Hongarije wil versnelde invoering euro (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Hungary has called for a speeding up of the process for entering the eurozone, saying membership of the single currency offers the best solution to the current economic crisis.
"I think the best protective mechanism is to speed up our accession to the eurozone," said Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany i on Tuesday (24 February) speaking to reporters in Brussels after meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso i.
He questioned whether it is really necessary for countries to spend two years in the euro waiting chamber - the 'Exchange Rate Mechanism Two' – after they have met the budget discipline and inflation rules.
"Without relaxing the conditions of euro accession, do we have to wait two years in the ante-room? Is it important to keep these countries in the lobby for so long?" he asked.
Mr Barroso, also speaking to reporters alongside the Hungarian leader, gave a non-committal response, insisting that the responsibility for euro membership conditions lies with member states.
But he said that, from a political point of view, the commission would be pleased to see new countries come into the club, which currently holds 16 of the 27 member states, noting: "The euro has been a very important factor of stability – a shield of protection."
All central and eastern countries are obliged to join the euro, something they accepted as part of becoming EU members. The rules for joining oblige countries to keep their inflation levels and interest rates in check and their budget deficits below three percent of GDP.
Tuesday's discussion came after the European Commission agreed to pay out a second installment of EU funds to help bolster the Hungarian forint by the end of March, saying Budapest was carrying out the right economic policies.
In October, the commission said it would offer €6.5 billion to Hungary as part of an international rescue plan. The first €2 billion tranche was paid out last year.
Solidarity
Mr Gyurcsany also nudged Mr Barroso on the concept of solidarity, amid fears that the European Union is dividing itself into rich and poor member states.
"When you have problems, then you find out whether you have friends," he said, noting that the bloc's common market rules mean one region cannot be treated differently to another.
"The eurozone's and Great Britain's banks, that is the investment of all these banks in the [central European] region is ...four or five times as much as the GDP of the region."
"If these invested assets are depreciated, then it is not only central Europe that faces problem, but it also has a negative impact on the eurozone countries."
The Hungarian leader pointed out that western banks, heavily exposed in eastern Europe, "have to use to same solutions in each of the subsidiaries regardless of where they are in the European Union."
Hungary's message on finding a common European solution chimes with that of Austria, whose banks are exposed in eastern Europe to the tune of around three quarters of the Alpine country's GDP.
Vienna wants its proposal for an EU-level bail-out discussed at the next meeting of EU finance ministers in March. Italy, Sweden and Belgium are also heavily exposed in the east.