Polish leftists back 2012 euro plan

Poland's opposition leftists back a government plan to adopt the euro in 2012 but believe it will be delayed by conservative resistance to required constitutional changes, a senior leftist lawmaker said yesterday.

Poland must amend its constitution before it can replace the zloty with the euro but needs opposition backing to do so. The eurosceptic right-leaning main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party has refused to back the 2012 target date, saying it is too early.

Wojciech Olejniczak, leader of the leftists' parliamentary group, told Reuters in an interview Poland should only initiate the lengthy process of adopting the euro after the next Parliamentary election, due in 2011.

"We agree to 2012 (for euro adoption). This is a good moment and a great chance for Poland. Just like joining the EU was a great chance for us, eurozone membership would be a civilisational leap for us," said Mr Olejniczak.

"There is no doubt that the euro would be very beneficial. There would be more investment, it would make life easier for exporters as well as importers who must battle currency volatility now.

"It would also mean bigger access to capital, which would be very positive for consumers."

But given the PiS opposition to amending the constitution, he added, "this conflict will only be decided with the next Parliamentary elections in 2011".

Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right coalition has signalled it is ready to take Poland into the European Exchange Rate mechanism (ERM-2), the waiting room for euro adoption, in the first half of this year even without a constitutional amendment.

But Mr Olejniczak said such a course was risky, adding that he thought Mr Tusk had not yet reached a final decision on the issue.

Some economists have cautioned that the zloty might come under attack from speculators exploiting the political uncertainty if it enters ERM-2 - where it trades in a fixed range against the euro - before the constitutional change.