Balcerowicz plays down Polish early euro hopes

National Bank of Poland governor Leszek Balcerowicz said in an interview Thursday 11 March that the country needed sounder finances before linking its currency to the euro.

The Financial Times Deutschland said that Balcerowicz effectively ruled out early membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-2), which precedes switching over to the euro.

"A precondition for ERM-2 membership is a clear perspective for bringing public finances into a healthy state," Balcerowicz said in the interview. Eco