Czechs should set euro adoption date, says Barroso

The president of the European Commission, Jose Barroso, has said the Czech Republic should set a target date for adoption of the common European currency. He made the comments in an interview for the Czech newspaper Deník. The Czech government has refused to fix a date for adopting the euro, saying it is first necessary to implement reforms and stabilise the public finances. If Poland meets its freshly announced target of joining the eurozone in 2011, all of the Czech Republic’s neighbours will be using the currency in less than two and a half years’ time.

Meanwhile, Czech business leaders, concerned by the continuing strength of the Czech crown, have called on the government to speed up the euro adoption process. The crown has risen by nearly 20-percent year-on-year towards the euro, meaning smaller profits for companies who export to eurozone states.