Kaczyński still skeptical on euro adoption

President Lech Kaczyński remains skeptical on adopting the euro in 2012 adding that Poles must be allowed to vote in a referendum on the government's plans to swap the złoty for the common currency.

At the end of October, the government has accepted a plan that outlines the roadmap to adopting the euro in 2012. However, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right government needs the support of the opposition Law and Justine (PiS) party to change Poland's constitution.

"2012 is just a slogan. I think the [need for a] referendum is obvious, just as a referendum ahead of our European Union entry [in 2004] was obvious," Kaczyński told reporters. "First there was talk that 2011 was possible, now 2012, but I think 2012 is doubtful," he added.

Economists have maintained that Poland's euro adoption plan as ambitious; an opinion that Kaczyński maintains adding that early adoption could harm the country's economy. However, Tusk argues that adopting the euro would shield Poland from financial turmoil. A poll published earlier in the week by TNS OBOP has shown that a majority of Poles are not keen on early euro adoption.

Source: Reuters