According to central bank Monetary Policy Council member Anna Zielinska-Glebocka, Poland may join the euro zone before 2020, despite predictions on the contrary. She added that in order for this to happen, the euro zone must first enforce fiscal discipline amongst its current members.
“I think it will happen before that,” Zielinska-Glebocka said. “On the condition that the management in the euro zone gets regulated. Some form of economic management, enforcement of fiscal discipline, must be adopted.”
EU To Collapse?
In the meantime, Polish finance minister Jacek Rostowski said the EU may “collapse” if its top countries, such as Germany, deal with the financial crisis incorrectly.
He said: “European elites, including German elites, must decide if they want the euro to survive- even at a high price- or not. If not, we should prepare for a controlled dismantling of the currency zone.”
“We have a simple choice,” he continued. “The solidarity or the collapse of Europe.”
A Nation-wide Responsibility
Rostowski’s criticism came after German President Christian Wulff stated that the European Central Bank should not invest in struggling Italian or Spanish bonds. According to Rostowski, Eurozone countries are obligated to dedicate additional funds to the EFSF in order for it to serve its purpose.
Deeper Integration
“We cannot allow markets to have a shadow of doubt that the EFSF is not big enough to stabilize all the euro countries which need help,” he stated. He added that the long-term solution to the crisis is deeper integration.
“The fundamental problem of the Eurozone is not an economic but a political one,” he said. “The choice is: much deeper macroeconomic integration in the Eurozone or its collapse. There is no third way.”
