The euro zone may not be the promised land of milk and honey warns MFM

"Poland should not be too hasty to enter the euro zone," said Keith Jones, the chairman of Morley Fund Management (MFM). According to Jones, Poland may indeed make good use of its EU membership but there is a serious risk of throwing away instruments that could be used to stimulate economic growth. The National Bank of Poland will lose its control over interest rates as well as the exchange rates which are both useful in fighting unemployment. "The EU [convergence criteria] demand that all euro zone members keep their budget deficit below 3% of their GDP. With Poland this would mean serious and rapid cuts in spending, while this should be a evolutionary process aimed at relieving the tax burden and not just meeting EU requirements. Morley fund Management is an investment arm of Aviva whose members are Polish companies of Commercial Union group. (Parkiet, Feb. 22-24, p. 8) J.K.