Radu, UniCredit: Euroisation needs to be discouraged if we postpone euro adoption

If Romania's euro adoption date is postponed by more than five years, the authorities should adopt stricter administrative measures to reverse the already extremely advanced process of "euroisation" of the economy, says Răsvan Radu, CEO of UniCredit Ţiriac Bank.

"If it was a matter of just three to five years before adoption of the euro, there would be no point in doing it, but if we are talking about a longer period, of 10 years, for instance, then measures to reverse the euroisation would be very useful in order to discourage using the euro to express different prices. Poland's main advantage at this time of crisis is precisely that its economy is not euroised, with the zloty being the base currency," Radu said.

For several years now, the euro has been the currency that Romanians automatically "think in" when it comes to higher-value acquisitions, with prices of homes, cars, mobile phone call plans, and of aeroplane tickets being displayed in euros. In addition, euro-denominated loans now account for more than 60% of banking loans.

Ziarul Financiar today organises a ZF Expert debate on the consequences of the euro's significant share in the economy and on the reasons why the authorities tolerate price displays in euros, although the national currency is the RON.