Euro only on vacation. Brussels can’t convince us

“One of the main reasons for the decreasing support for changing the currency in Poland is the passivity of pro-European political groups in this matter – these are the conclusions from the survey ‘Poles towards the prospect of introducing the euro’ conducted on behalf of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FWG)” – describes “Rzeczpospolita”.

Poles’ support for the euro

Compared to the previous edition of the survey in 2023, total support for the introduction of the euro in a few years has decreased from 34.9% to 30.7%. Opposition has increased during this time from 50.8% to 56.5%. “Definitely in favor” is 10.1% (previously 13.8%), “definitely against” – 32.7% (was 28.2).

– The latest research reveals the persistence of numerous concerns related to the introduction of the euro in Poland. For more than half of the respondents (56%), adopting the common currency within a few years is perceived as a change for which they are not adequately prepared. The proposal to begin preparations for adopting the euro arouses much less opposition (32% of respondents) – commented on the results, Dr. Robert Sobiech from Collegium Civitas, one of the authors of the research concept.

Respondents expressed similar opinions a few months earlier in a study commissioned by Wirtualna Polska. 66.8% of respondents did not want to change the currency. Almost half of respondents (49.4%) were “definitely” opposed to introducing the euro, and 17.4% “rather” did not want it.

The opposite opinion was held by 27.3% of the people taking part in the survey. 14.3% admitted that they were “definitely” in favour of adopting the euro, while 13% answered “rather yes”. 5.9% of people had no opinion on the matter.

Andrzej Domański: we are not working on introducing the euro

Knowing the public mood, politicians are not talking loudly about introducing the currency. Silence is a way to avoid a drop in the polls, but it is also a way to postpone a topic that will have to be subjected to public discussion at some point.

In April this year, the then deputy head of Poland 2050, MP Michał Kobosko (currently a member of the European Parliament) stated that Poland should follow the path leading to adopting the euro as a step towards increasing the country’s security. He recalled that Poles had decided on this path by voting for accession to the European Union in a referendum in 2003.

Adopting the euro, as Kobosko pointed out, was part of the accession treaty. However, he admitted that the road to adopting the common currency is long and requires changes to the constitution and a change in public opinion, which has become skeptical about the euro over the past eight years.

— We are one of the last EU countries that have not adopted the common currency, we cannot afford to be marginalized in Europe — said Kobosko.

In May, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański assured that in his ministry “no work is underway on adopting the common currency, not even a potential one.”

— The Polish economy is absolutely not ready to adopt the euro, we do not meet the convergence criteria, he said. He emphasized that the złoty has helped the Polish economy cope with crises many times.