Hungarian economy minister: No hurry to adopt euro

Budapest, July 22 (MTI) – Hungary’s economy minister has said that there is no need to hurry to adopt the euro. Unless the level of development of the country’s economy reaches the European average, the move could be detrimental, he said.

Mihály Varga said in an interview on Friday:

“We can have the euro, but we won’t for the time being.”

Speaking to a local radio station in Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő), in central Romania, Varga said the euro zone had experienced difficulties in the past few years, and adoption currently does not appear to be “overly attractive”.

Hungary complies with all but one of the conditions for joining the single currency but it does not wish to enter the ERM II exchange-rate corridor yet, he said. The fact that Hungary is now in such a position represents a huge advance on six years ago, when the country did not comply with a single condition for adopting the euro, he added.