- The euro is the official currency in 20 of the 27 EU member states.
- The Romanian state met the criteria for switching to the euro currency in the period 2015-2016.
- In 2024, Romania does not meet any criteria for joining the euro zone.
Since the end of the 60s, there have been debates within the European community about an Economic and Monetary Union. This implies the coordination of economic and budgetary policies, the application of a common monetary policy and the use of a single currency: the EURO.
However, there were political and economic obstacles, and it was not until 1999 that the euro entered circulation. Romania missed out on joining the euro zone, although it met the criteria eight years ago.
Why are we one of the seven Member States that do not have the euro?
“It is important to state and reinforce the fact that all member states are obliged by the accession treaties to the European Union to eventually also join the single European currency, the euro, with the exception of Denmark, which had a derogation in this regard and Great Britain, which in the meantime has left the European Union. Otherwise, we too are obliged to join this euro currency at some point, when we meet the four convergence criteria. We had a chance in 2015-2016 to join. Then, the budget deficit was in the chart. The currency was quite stable as it is now, broadly speaking, and the public finances were in an area of balance. Now, at this point, we no longer meet any criteria for joining the euro and sure, we are living in pretty good times now. We got over the pandemic, we got over the shock of the war in Ukraine, we got over the shock of rising prices and so on. Somehow, things settle down, at least economically, and it’s a quieter time. But in a period of crisis, the fact that certain countries have the euro currency was an anchor for them. Now, inflation in the euro area has reached somewhere between 2-2 and a bit percent. Here, inflation is still at 7%-8%. On the other hand, the advantage when you don’t have the euro, as it is here, because it is the leu, is that there is more room for maneuver for the Central Bank, for monetary policy, to strengthen interest rates or to relax them. Or, sometimes it could be good. For example, at least from my point of view, Governor Mugur Isărescu together with the National Bank of Romania made very good decisions in the situation of rising prices, when we talk about reducing interest rates and probably, subsequently, we will see in the coming months also a decrease in interest rates “, Răzvan Botea, editor of Ziarului Financiar, explained to Aleph News.
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