Poland pledged to adopt the Euro when it joined the European Union in 2004. The adoption of the common currency will have a significant impact on the country’s future and will define our position in Europe. It should be noted that entry into the Eurozone is not only an economic issue but also a major political and social change.
In recent months, the topic of budget deficits has taken center stage in heated debates among economists and politicians, garnering significant attention in the media. In April, the caretaker government proposed a budget with a notable deficit of 6.1% of GDP for 2023. In June, Finance Minister Asen Vasilev proposed a new budget with a negative balance of 3%, which is right at the limit for fiscal stability as set in the Maastricht criteria of the European Commission.
“Road to Euro” is a Polish nationwide campaign kicked off in mid-2022 and run by the Economic Freedom Foundation. The campaign’s main purpose is therefore to start an intensive debate on Poland’s accession to the eurozone, inform about the benefits of adopting the common currency, as well as prepare recommendations for necessary reforms and initiate the process of joining the eurozone.
Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004, but has not decided to join the monetary union yet. Have Poland benefited or lost from this decision? For the last two years, starting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Polish zloty, like other currencies of Central European countries, has been significantly depreciated.
The European Commission has proposed to make EUR 750 billion available as a joint fund to be borne by the EU for the recovery of Member States whose economies have been severely damaged by the COVID-19 crisis.
In August, the Bulgarian government adopted a detailed action plan for joining ERM II and the Banking Union and there were some changes1 to the Bulgarian National Bank Act that also seem to lead in this general direction.
The presentation of the recently published ECB and EC reports was highly anticipated by Bulgarians, as the Bulgarian government’s intention is to officially sign up for the eurozone waiting room by the end of June.
Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone became again a part of public discourse, after the minister of finance of the first Borisov government gave up on it in 2012. This will without a doubt bring opportunities as well as threats for the economy, and more often than not opinions are polarized.
For Poland, introducing euro is, strategically, a very important step. The discussion (so far only theoretical) is conducted in two areas. First, a political debate is devoted to the direction of our integration. There is, however, a second debate – a strictly economic one.
Following the Greek tragedy, there is a search for ways to prevent crises of similar magnitude from happening. Different state representatives are coming up with different solutions on how best handle such situations. What the eurozone needs are more voices advocating for the benefits of competition.
