Slovakia has to be on its guard against inflation and keep to strict fiscal discipline even after joining the Eurozone, said Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurozone finance ministers group, at an Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Luxembourg on June 3.
The finance ministers taking part at the session agreed with the European Commission's (EC) recommendation on May 7 that Slovakia should be allowed to join the Eurozone.
"We're glad that Slovakia is meeting the required criteria. Its economy has moved closer to the Eurozone in an impressive manner in recent years, so we welcome its entry on January 1 (2009)," said Junker. "At the same time, we want to stress the need to keep a balanced fiscal and economy policy."
Formal approval of Slovakia's bid to adopt the euro is expected at the EU summit due to take place later in June in Brussels. This will be followed by a session of EU finance ministers on July 8 that will fix the final crown-euro conversion rate. After Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus, Slovakia will be the fourth new EU-member state to adopt the euro. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
4. Jun 2008 at 7:00
