The Czech Republic must adopt the euro if it wants to participate in the future development of the EU, all three former Czech EU commissioners – Pavel Telička, Vladimír Špidla and Štefan Füle – told the Czech News Agency on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s accession to the EU.
If the Czech Republic wants to be present and participate in all important discussions on the future development of the EU, it must adopt the euro, said Telička, commissioner from May to November 2004. He added there are no fundamental economic arguments against the introduction of the euro. Many representatives of the current ruling parties are well aware of the need to introduce the euro, but they lack determination and show weakness on the issue, he said, adding that if the opposition succeeds in the next election, the introduction of the euro will be delayed and the Czech Republic will be more vulnerable.
Füle, who was a member of the commission from 2010 to 2014, emphasised that the people decided on the introduction of the euro in the referendum on the Czech Republic’s EU membership. He said:
But politicians have not hurried and have not felt the need for us to be part of the major decision-making processes on the further development of the euro and the euro area.
Füle also said that the argument of some Czech politicians that the euro looks and works differently now than it did when the Czech Republic joined the EU is nothing more than an excuse. He later added that the preparation of candidate countries for EU accession and the EU’s preparation for accepting new members should be interlinked or conditioned on each other. This is the only way to ensure the credibility of the enlargement process in both candidate countries and member states.
According to Špidla (Social Democrat, SOCDEM), former Prime Minister and EU Commissioner from November 2004 to February 2010, the EU must be reformed like any living organism that must respond to changes and situations as they arise.
