The New Year has brought with it articles in the influential daily Rzeczpospolita arguing that Poland is losing out financially as a result of staying out of the eurozone. These articles cite economists who claim that Poland is losing money each year that it stays outside of the eurozone.
However, the matter is not as simple as euro enthusiasts would like it to be. In fact, economists are clearly divided on the issue, and just as important, so is Polish society.
According to the leader of the Confederation party, Krzysztof Bosak, the arguments in favor of the euro are political rather than economic. He says that it is all about an ever-closer union and the end of national sovereignty, rather than economic pragmatism.
Bosak argues that the reduction of risk due to no longer having to be at the mercy of the euro exchange rate does not compensate for not being able to regulate the economy through the value of one’s own currency. In addition, he said he feels that it is not worth giving up so much power to foreign institutions.
Bosak’s words were echoed on the left by Adrian Zandberg, the leader of the Together party, which supports the Donald Tusk government. He feels that rushing into the eurozone could be damaging to the Polish economy.
Zandberg wants to first see greater convergence between the Polish and Western economies and noted that Poland currently does not meet the criteria for entry into the eurozone.
He said he believes that the EU must first increase public investment and align pay and social benefits. Only then will it make sense to talk of a common currency in all European states, he argues.
