Fiala: Czechia needs to sort out deficit and inflation before adopting euro

The adoption of the euro is not a pressing topic given the current economic situation in Czechia, the country’s prime minister, Petr Fiala, told the Czech News Agency in an interview published on Friday. The head of the country’s government said that it is first necessary to sort out Czechia’s budget deficit and tame inflation, adding that the current economic situation in the country does not actually fulfil the conditions of the Maastricht criteria that define when a state is ready to adopt the currency.

He thus echoed the words of his finance minister, Zbyněk Stanjura, made at a conference of the government Civic Democratic Party two weeks ago. The government also agreed not to set a definite date on when the country should aim to adopt the Eurozone currency.

Mr Fiala said that the government is overall seeking to slim-down the state and increase its effectivity. Once laws covering deficit reduction and the currently proposed pensions reform are approved by the country’s legislature, the government will seek to speed up the realisation of major strategic projects that the prime minister hopes will help the country’s economy in the coming decades. This includes investments into education, transport infrastructure and security.