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PM Tusk makes U-turn on euro referendum

PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle 27.03.2013 09:06
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he is open to a referendum on adopting the euro, if opposition parties support a change to Poland's Constitution.

PM
PM Tusk at press conference, Tuesday: photo - PA/ Radek Pietruszka

“Maybe we should start consultations with all parties to find a consensus on a constitutional amendment so that we can enter the eurozone,” Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, as the government steps up its campaign to win over a sceptical public to the benefits of adopting the European single currency.

Poland would have to change its constitution to be able to ditch the zloty and the government needs a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament to do so: meaning PM Tusk would need votes from the argest opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS).

Law and Justice leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has demanded that Poland hold a referendum on joining the eurozone, a move Donald Tusk has previously opposed.

Law and Justice would recommend a 'no' vote, saying conditions are not right to join the European single currency.

But in a new shift of ground, Poland's prime minister now appears to be willing to trade a referendum in return for support for changing the constitution, which currently says only the National Bank of Poland can issue currency.

When asked by journalists when Poland should enter the eurozone, Donald Tusk said “by the end of the decade”.

Last month, the centre-right Civic Platform-led coalition said that they would not set a date for eurozone entry till after the next general election in 2015.

The government faces an uphill struggle in persuade Poles that adopting the euro is in their best interests, however.

An opinion poll published in the Rzeczpospolita daily this week found that 67 percent were currently against the idea.

The recent crisis in Cyprus has not helped the government's campaign.

Tusk said on Monday that letting banking sectors become dominant in small countries such as Cyprus “should be a wake up call” for the rest of the eurozone. (pg)

source: PAP

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