Poland is likely to join the euro in 2012 is likely, but the government will not set a formal target date due to economic uncertainties, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday.
"2012 is quite probable. We will do it quickly and efficiently, but we are not going to set a specific target date. I prefer to make promises that I can keep," Tusk told Reuters in an interview. Hopes of quicker euro adoption were one of the main reasons behind the warm welcome of the election victory of Tusk's centre-right Civic Platform last year, which ran a campaign promising the euro, lower taxes and less red tape.
Employers have also long been appealing for adoption of the single currency, saying it would put an end to zloty appreciation and strengthen the competitiveness of Polish companies. Tusk's government, in office for just over 100 days, has refused to set a formal entry date.
Tusk said this was because of uncertainties related to the global economic outlook but insisted the government was working to make euro possible. He said the government was prepared to take the decision to anchor the zloty in the ERM2 currency corridor, the ante-chamber to eurozone entry, at the right opportunity.
"Nobody needs to convince me, finance minister (Jacek) Rostowski, other ministers, to undertake action that requires courage, that requires a risk, also in the face of public opinion," he said. "(We will enter) when we reach the status of a country that meets all the requirements."
Tusk also said he would not approve Witold Kozinski, one of two candidates for central bank deputy governor, due to his controversial views on currency intervention. Kozinski, a former central banker, was proposed by the bank's governor Slawomir Skrzypek earlier this year. He spooked markets by suggesting currency interventions might be used to tame the vibrant zloty.
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