Polish Finance Minister: Poland Will Not Meet Euro Entry Requirements by 2005

'Poland will not be able to meet all the requirements for entry into the Euro zone by 2005,' announced Polish Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko yesterday at a press conference. According to Reuters, Kolodko suggested that a more realistic date for Polish entry into the Euro was 2007. The minister has earlier announced that Poland would join the Euro in 2005.

Professor Lesek Balcerowicz believes that the best time for Poland to join the Euro zone would be 2006-2007. The professor believes that Poland will be able to meet the requirements laid out in Maastricht by this date.

The requirements include: inflation no higher than 1.5% above the EU average; an exchange rate of plus or minus 15% of parity for a period of at least years after EU entry; a long-term interest rate on 10-year government bonds no higher than 2% above the average of the three EU states with the lowest inflation; a budget deficit of no more than 3% of gross national income; debt no higher than 60% of gross national income.