More Than Two Decades of Unfulfilled Commitment
In the Visegrad Four countries, the public voted in referendums for joining the European Union in the spring of 2003. By signing the accession agreement and adopting the rules of the Maastricht Treaty, they committed themselves to adopting the euro in the future. However, this commitment is not precisely timed and 21 years have passed, but Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic do not want to give up their currencies. The only one that willingly exchanged the Slovak crown for the European currency and entered the eurozone was Slovakia in 2009.
Surveys in the Czech Republic Are Clear
The then President Václav Klaus spoke out strongly against the Euro in the Czech Republic, and his rhetoric has not changed to this day. On the contrary, at the beginning of 2024, the current president, Peter Pavel, encouraged the start of an expert discussion on the topic of adopting the euro and fulfilling the country's commitment to the EU. But the mood in the country is against this proposal. Last year's survey by the Median agency for Radiožurnál showed that as many as 58 percent of Czech citizens are against the adoption of the euro. At the same time, the country would be able to meet the so-called Lisbon without major problems. The Maastricht criteria, which are necessary for entry into the eurozone, include a limited inflation rate, a state budget deficit, a long-term interest rate, and the size of public debt. In addition, the country's currency must have been involved in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) for at least two years prior to the assessment and its exchange rate must be within strictly defined limits. However, last year's survey by the European Commission (EC) showed that the country has so far met only one condition - the long-term interest rate.
The Date is Still Unknown
Due to the lack of support from the population, the Czech Republic still does not plan to set a date for the adoption of the European currency. Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura recently told AFP that if the country's support for the euro does not reach at least 50 percent, there is no point in giving up the Czech crown. The fact remains, however, that despite scepticism in the country, up to 78 percent of people in the European Union pay with the euro and the Czech Republic is an export economy. In practice, the euro would mean acceleration, simplification and reduction of transaction costs, easy price comparability with other countries, but also higher attractiveness for foreign investors, which could be observed after the introduction of the euro, for example, in Slovakia or Slovenia.
Swedes and Poles Are Not Yet in Favour of the Euro
Last year's EC assessment revealed that Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden do not meet all the criteria for joining the eurozone, with Poland and Hungary not even meeting any of them. However, the mood in Sweden and Poland is the same as in the Czech Republic. An opinion poll in 2024 showed that 48.7 percent of Swedes would reject the euro, and an IBRiS poll in 2023 showed that as many as 63 percent of Poles surveyed were in the same position.
Never Say Never
A few days ago, Bulgaria finally met all the conditions and received the green light from the commission. The Bulgarian lev should become a thing of the past as early as January 1, 2026, when Bulgaria will become the 21st country in which it will be possible to pay with the euro. On the contrary, Romanians have postponed the plan to introduce the euro from 2024 to the period between 2027-2028. Hungary does not yet plan to set any date for the introduction of the euro due to the state budget deficit.
