The former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has said that countries not in the EU could join the euro
Published:
23 January 2004 y., Friday
In a rare interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung today, the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has said that countries not in the EU could join the euro.
Mr Kohl, who was leader of Germany from 1982 to 1998, said, "I can imagine that one or the other country will adopt the euro without becoming an EU member".
Mentioning Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, he said, "I think that in the not too distant future people will pay with the euro in Switzerland. Because there, after several referendums, it will be recognised that the euro is good for Switzerland". He also cites the Ukraine as a possible euro member outside the EU.
The former leader believes that this would be a good way to bring countries that do not have the possibility of joining the EU closer to the Union.
Furthermore, Mr Kohl, who is thought of as one of the architects of the euro, criticises present EU countries who have decided to retain their own currencies - the UK, Sweden and Denmark.
He says, "Some European Union countries have not adopted the euro. One could say they have stepped on the brakes. But time is against the laggards".
Šaltinis:
euobserver.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
A specific EU budget line for the new EU stabilisation mechanism should be created as soon as possible, to ensure its credibility, Council, Commission and Parliament negotiators agreed at a three-way meeting on Wednesday.
more »
New EU rule will help phone-users avoid astronomical bills for web-surfing and downloads abroad.
more »
The Communication approved today by the Commission builds on the principles presented on 12 May to reinforce the economic governance in the European Union.
more »
Eurostat report just published shows that the crisis has brought some lower taxes.
more »
New legislation is needed to ensure fair returns to farmers and transparent prices to consumers, by enforcing fair competition throughout the food supply chain, said Agriculture Committee MEPs on Monday.
more »
Fish imports play a crucial role in supplying the European market, yet fisheries and aquaculture are strategic sectors that do not lend themselves to a purely free-trade approach, believes the EP Fisheries Committee.
more »
I will support every proposal that strengthens cooperation among the European Union's Member States and serves Lithuania's interests," President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė said at the meeting with EU Member States' ambassadors resident in Lithuania.
more »
The fourth World Lithuanian Economic Forum “High tech innovation & investment: local to global” will start in London on 22 June.
more »
Lithuania aims for the five Nordic countries and three Baltic States to become single community of values, which would be linked by a versatile quality of democracy, security and everyday life.
more »
MEPs decided on Wednesday to create a special committee to prepare for the EU's next long-term budgetary framework.
more »