LJUBLJANA (AFP) -- Despite superstition that the number 13 brings bad luck, Slovenian officials are working hard to prove that becoming the 13th eurozone country in January 2007 will bring only good to the tiny Alpine state.

"We are glad to be joining the club of most developed countries," Slovenian central bank governor Mitja Gaspari said earlier this week after the European Commission and the European Central Bank had agreed that the former Yugoslav republic met all the requirements to join the European single currency.

Slovenian authorities now face a challenging six-month period during which they have to prepare the country for a smooth changeover to the new currency without the feared euro-driven inflation.

Almost 55 percent of Slovenians are concerned that double-pricing of goods, introduced in Slovenia last March, and other measures taken by the government will not prevent inflation, according to a survey carried out by the government in March.

A total of 47 percent said they believed their quality of life would worsen with the single currency while another 47 percent expected it to remain unchanged and only 3.5 percent hoped for an improvement.

While the government says the changeover might produce an increase in inflation of 0.2 percentage points, some leading economists warn that inflation could jump a whole percentage point.

"Besides double pricing and other measures aimed at preventing a raise of prices, we plan a wide awareness campaign that will help citizens get to know the euro and follow the changeover process," Slovenian government spokesman Gregor Krajc said.

He said that Slovenian citizens will have to learn the value of euro coins and bills since "changeover times are ideal for putting fake money into circulation."

Slovenia, the first new EU state to join the 12 states that introduced the euro in 2002, plans a fast changeover allowing the simultaneous circulation of tolars and euros for only the first two weeks of 2007.

Double pricing will remain for another six months, however.

"In September we will start distributing euro bills to banks all over the country while other institutions will get the euro bills and coins in December," Gaspari told parliament on Thursday.

The process of distributing the bills and coins will require strong security measures.

"After all, we have to distribute some 750 tons of euro coins all over the country," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said.

An additional tough task will be putting euro bills instead of tolars in over 1,300 ATMs (automatic teller machines) between December 31 and January 1. Only "24 hours after the changeover, all the ATMs will be operational," Gaspari said.

The government has already designed the future Slovenian euro-coins that will be minted in Finland.

The two-euro coin will bear the image of Slovenian 19th century Romantic poet France Preseren, considered the father of Slovenian poetry.

The one-euro coin will carry the portrait of 16th century Protestant reformer Primoz Trubar, who printed the first book in Slovenian language.

Slovenia's highest mountain Triglav will be represented on the 50-cent coin while the 10-cent coin will carry the image of the blueprint for the never constructed parliament building designed by secessionist architect Joze Plecnik.

The 20-cent coin will be minted with the image of two Lipizzaner horses while the five-cent coin will feature the landmark Prince's Stone, where Karantania dukes were crowned in the sixth century.

The Slovenian Chamber of Commerce warned that the introduction of the euro would require companies to spend between 10,000 and up 1.0 million euros (up to 1.27 million dollars) to acquire and adapt their equipment for working in euros.