Speaking at a joint news conference with Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, Ponta reiterated that Romania must join the eurozone as soon as possible, but when it fully ready to do it. Fico, in turn, said the euro adoption was beneficial for Slovakia.
Ponta and Fico both stressed that one must keep the financing level of the European structural and cohesion policies to avoid facing a deeper gap between the eastern and western countries.
Early November, Ponta said Romania’s 2015 deadline to adopt the euro is not “set in stone”, but highlighted the country must continue efforts to observe the criteria needed to join the single currency area.
The 12 states that joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007 also pledged to adopt the European single currency. The euro adoption has no clear-cut calendar, but joining the euro zone requires the observance of a set of strict criteria, including a budget deficit not higher than 3% of the gross domestic product, reduced levels of public debt and of the inflation rate.
Five of these states–Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta–have already joined the eurozone.