Poland’s entry into ERM II in H2 at earliest

2009-04-28

Poland will not be able to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) in the first half of the year, but 2012 remains realistic as the date of adopting the euro, deputy finance minister and the government’s special representative for euro entry Ludwik Kotecki said on 27 April.
The comments came as the government approved a new document, “Conditions for fulfilling the road map towards the euro”. In it, the cabinet announces that it would no longer stick rigidly to the year 2012 as the date for entering the eurozone, but stresses that it is still feasible, “on the condition that the period of stabilising the zloty’s exchange rate begins in the second quarter of 2009”. Unless this happens, the date of Poland’s entry to the euro area will be pushed back beyond 2012. The government is to publish a more detailed timetable in July.
At the moment, Poland’s general government deficit and inflation exceed the maximum levels allowed by the euro convergence criteria.