The pensions question needs to be resolved between Poland and Eurostat and at some point there will be some form of agreement

The pensions question needs to be resolved between Poland and Eurostat and at some point there will be some form of agreement. MichaŠŠ DybuŠŠa, chief economist with BNP Paribas: "The pensions question needs to be resolved between Poland and Eurostat and at some point there will be some form of agreement. The final exchange rate for the Euro will need to be found and calculations would indicate that a rate could be 4.20 zŠŠoty or even slightly less at 4.10. "If you look at Poland and the rest of the Central European countries, they are much closer to convergence in terms of business structures than, say, Portugal, Greece and Ireland were, and that will allow them to withstand the asymmetrical shock of convergence. "Secondly, the Euro zone offers the benefit of taking advantage of lower interest rates. In the Euro zone they have a base rate of 2 percent and in Poland interest rates are 6.5 percent. This is a tremendous difference and will be greatly appreciated by businesses. So from these points of view we can say the quicker the better in terms of joining the Euro zone. "In terms of entry, Slovenia is particularly well placed, but if you look at the four Central and Eastern European countries-Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland-we are well placed because not all the other countries have such good economic track records. "Opposition might come from old EU countries like France and Germany, which are suffering at the moment and might say taxes are too low and that Poland will offer unfair competition. This is the political dimension, and if France and Germany do not feel very secure it could prove a difficulty. One can imagine that Poland's fiscal policy and figures will not only be scrutinized in Brussels but will be examined in great detail in the likes of Paris and London. I can't talk for the political sector but the business sector is prepared to weather this and that indicates the strength of Poland in these areas. "The only area where I can see a detrimental effect is the death of the Polish markets. That will mean there is no more work for people like me and we will have to find other work. Putting that aside, there seems to be a certain amount of optimism when you consider membership in the Euro zone."