Czech president warns against early adoption of euro

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has warned against the dangers of adopting the euro too soon. "Gross domestic product per Czech inhabitant is one third of the level of the European Union, and adjusted for purchasing power, it is 70 percent of the European average. It is this difference which represents an unknown," Klaus, a former liberal economist and eurosceptic, said in an interview with Czech daily Dnes published Monday. He expressed concern about arrangements for adapting to use of the euro "and their disagreeable effects on the whole economy". The Czech Republic joined the European Union on May 1, but Klaus insisted that Czechs would not be at a disadvantage if other countries which also joined the EU on May 1 adopted the euro first.Klaus also criticised a recent announcement by Prime Minister Stanislav Gross that the Czechs' aim was to adopt the euro in 2010 and the necessary criteria two years earlier. "Speculating on the date is a step to the side taken by people who don't risk anything," said Klaus.