Minister for European Affairs Martin Dvořák (STAN) today appointed economist Petr Zahradník as his representative for entering the European exchange rate mechanism ERM II and adopting the euro.
Some government parties started talking about the restoration of the function of the national coordinator for the euro after, among other things, after the New Year’s speech of President Petr Pavel, more discussion began about the possible adoption of a common European currency. While the four government parties – STAN, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09 and Pirates – are in favor, the civil democrats are negative.
Zahradník is an economist and analyst who specializes in the European Union. He is also a member of the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV) or part of the EuroTeam at the European Commission (DG ECFIN). According to Dvořák, Zahradník’s appointment to the post is an effort to support the social and professional debate on the benefits and risks of adopting the euro, the minister noted later in a press release.
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The main agenda of the new plenipotentiary will be participation in an expert discussion on the fulfillment of the so-called Maastricht criteria and the future adoption of the common European currency, monitoring and analysis of the economic side of joining the eurozone and providing expert support to Dvořák. The Gardener will also cooperate on commenting on materials going to the government.
According to the press department of the minister, the position is established for an indefinite period. “There are no additional financial costs arising from filling this position, as Petr Zahradník is currently working as an advisor to the minister,” the office added.
“I believe that thanks to the new commissioner we will be able to respond to the main objections from the professional public and convince as many citizens as possible that the fastest possible fulfillment of all the Maastricht criteria, which the government committed to in its program statement, is in the interest of all of us,” noted Dvořák .
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To join the Eurozone, a country must meet four criteria. The price stability criterion stipulates that the country’s inflation rate must not exceed the average inflation of the three eurozone countries with the lowest price growth by more than 1.5 percentage points. The long-term interest rate criterion requires that the long-term interest rate be no more than two percentage points above the average of the three eurozone countries with the lowest inflation. The public finance criterion sets the maximum budget deficit at three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and the maximum level of debt at 60 percent of GDP. The last criterion is exchange rate stability, which requires two-year membership in the European exchange rate mechanism ERM II.