Prague, May 18 (CTK) – The next Czech government will have to make a decision on the euro adoption, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) said on Thursday, adding that in the opposite case, the country could be relegated to the EU’s slower stream.
“The next government will have to make a decision on whether we will join the euro zone. If we decide against the euro zone after the next general election [to be held in October], it can happen that the quick euro zone integration will push us to the edge of the European Union, to the slower lanes of multi-speed Europe,” Sobotka said in the Chamber of Deputies’ question time.
He added that this would not be good for the Czech Republic.
Sobotka said the Czech Republic does not wish a multi-speed EU, in which individual countries would participate in the developments in the EU in different ways.
In fact, the EU is divided already now by the member countries’ being members of the euro zone or the Schengen area, Sobotka said and added that minimally France and Germany will be trying to accelerate the integration of the euro zone countries.
Sobotka rejected integration at any cost. “I believe that in the future we do not have to deal with a number of issues on the Brussels level even within the more closely cooperating Europe, but we can leave powers on the level of individual member countries,” Sobotka said.
He said political parties should clearly say still before the general election what idea of the future of the Czech Republic they have, in which EU speed lane the Czech Republic should be.
“We would like to keep Europe together as much as possible, we do not want any new euro zone institutions, we are not supporters of a multi-speed Europe, we want a cohesive Europe,” Sobotka said.
