Disappearance of red coins: what impact for purchasing power?

Small parts that make a big noise. The 1 and 2 cent coins may well be on the way out. A European Commission project aims to eliminate them. According to a study carried out between 2020 and 2021, 72% of Europeans questioned consider that these parts are cumbersome or even useless, reports Les Echos.

However, if the idea of ​​​​removing them appeals to part of the population, the unions are not convinced. In a press release published on Friday, October 14, the CGT de la Monnaie de Paris denounces this project of the European Commission and defends the interest of small change. According to them, it would allow “to have a price as close as possible to the real value of the property plus the trader margin”, can we read in the press release.

For the union, the abolition of 1 and 2 cent coins could have deleterious effects on consumer purchasing power. Inflation could indeed worsen since, as the CGT fears, this measure could encourage traders to “round prices to their exclusive advantage”, even if “rules relating to rounding” were put in place. square.

“While all consumers in the euro zone are facing unprecedented inflation, they would not understand that the disappearance of the 1 and 2 cent coins should be stopped in such a context even though this disappearance risks aggravating inflation. “, added the union in its press release.

Concretely, if the 1 and 2 cent coins were to be abolished, how would this translate into everyday life?

For the time being, the European Commission has not yet revealed the modalities that such a measure could take if it were to be adopted. However, some European countries have already stopped the circulation of 1 and 2 cent coins.

Since July 2022, this has been the case in Slovakia, where prices must now be rounded to the nearest 5 cents when payment is made in cash. In the Netherlands and Belgium these coins are no longer in circulation and virtually similar systems have been adopted.

The European Commission has not yet legislated on the subject but it could well happen soon.

The European Commission had planned to take up this subject no later than the second quarter of 2022. However, as the deadline has passed, no news has been announced on the subject.

According to information from MoneyVox, the Commission should decide before the end of 2022, probably in December. The answers to the questions left in abeyance should therefore reach the ears of Europeans in the coming months.

If France could, like several of its neighbors, ban red coins without waiting for the Commission’s decision, this is not currently planned.