EC says none of the newcomers ready for the single currency

The European Commission has said none of the ten newcomer states are ready to join the single currency and pressed for continued efforts. European Union financial chiefs concluded at their meeting on Wednesday that none of the countries vying to join the now 12 nation Euro zone fulfilled the five tests for Euro membership. They noted individual progress on some targets. The Czech Republic meets the criteria for inflation but falls short of the requirement of keeping its public deficit below 3.0 percent of GDP. The Commission has declined to forecast how soon the newcomers could swap their currencies for the Euro.