Romanian gov't postpones euro adoption target

Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said Monday that swapping the Romanian leu for the euro may be possible when incomes in the country catch up with other eurozone states.


This means the Romanian government has abandoned its 2019 euro adoption target and has not set a date for entering the eurozone.

"Let's make sure that this monetary convergence is done in parallel with the convergence of incomes. We believe that the switchover to the euro can be done only after the Romanians' incomes get close to earnings in other European Union (EU) member states," Grindeanu said at a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on changing the currency.

• The debate over euro adoption comes amid concern about Brussels' scenario of a possible two-speed Europe, with a first tier reserved for eurozone members only. 

The prime minister is determined to move the country towards deeper integration.

"We must prove that Romania is determined to further support the EU cohesion policies and show that we all have the same goal -- a stronger union where member states have the same target," said Grindeanu.

The prime minister said that an important objective on the government's agenda was to make the transition to the euro "as smooth as possible for the citizens."

   [Xinhua/globaltimes.cn]

11/4/17