Prime Minister Robert Fico says that Slovakia is meeting all the criteria for joining the euro as planned next year, the SITA newswire wrote. Following a session of the Coalition Council on April 3, he stressed that the country was fulfilling some of the Maastricht Criteria with room to spare. Fico said he expects a positive decision from European institutions on Slovakia’s adoption of the euro from January 1, 2009. In terms of inflation, consolidation of general government finances, general government debt or the stability of interest rates and the currency itself, Slovakia is meeting the criteria ahead of schedule. The Prime Minister said it seems that the country is on course to be the first country in the region to introduce the single European currency.
Fico once again stressed that euro adoption was not a race. He further reiterated that advantages outweigh disadvantages in relation to the single European currency. Even if some risks appeared the Slovak government would be prepared, institutionally and financially, to compensate for potential negative impacts. Fico highlighted the government's ability to react to attempts to misuse the euro changeover. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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