|
|
Commission Report (2002): Latvia
As part of the preparations for the common currency the EU Member States
(MSs) have designed a new consumer price index in order to comply with the
obligations of the EU Treaty. The aim was to produce CPIs comparable between
Member States. The main task was to harmonise methodologies and coverage. The
result was the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). A similar exercise
has been started with Candidate Countries (CC). In respect to enlargement, it
is equally important that their economic performance is assessed on the basis
of comparable indices. Some progress has already been made towards adapting
the new rules. Since January 1999 CCs report monthly to Eurostat so-called
proxy HICPs that are based on national CPIs but adapted to the HICP coverage.
They are not yet fully compliant with the HICPs of the MSs. In the table, the
proxy HICPs are back-calculated to 1997 (rates from 1998).
© European Commission
|
|
