Czech Republic fails two meet two our of four euro adoption criteria

The Czech Republic this year failed to meet two out of four criteria set by the EU for the adoption of the single European currency, the euro, according to a report by the Czech National Bank and the Finance Ministry. Due to a hike in the VAT rates, the Czech Republic did not meet the criterion of price stability. It also exceeded the three-percent limit on government budget deficit which is expected to reach percent of the GDP this year. The Czech Republic meets the remaining two conditions – government debt below 60 percent of the GDP and long-term interest rates. Although bound by its EU accession treaty to adopt the euro, the Czech Republic has set no date for doing so.