Poland in no rush to adopt euro as economy outperforms eurozone, says finance minister

Poland's economic performance has weakened the case for adopting the euro, Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said on Sunday, arguing that the country is now outperforming most members of the eurozone.

In remarks to the Financial Times, Domanski said Poland is "better served by retaining the zloty for now," citing faster growth and improving economic indicators.

"Our economy is now doing clearly better than most of those that have the euro," he said.

"We have more and more data, research and arguments to keep the Polish zloty."

His remarks mark a shift under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who backed adopting the euro during his first term in 2008.

The plan was later shelved following the euro debt crisis and amid opposition from the conservative Law and Justice party, which portrayed the zloty as a symbol of national sovereignty.

Since Tusk returned to power in October 2023, the Polish currency has strengthened against the euro, while opinion polls show a majority of Poles remain opposed to adopting the single currency.

"Public opinion favors the zloty, but the main reasons we're not working on euro adoption right now are economic and not about Polish politics," Domanski said.

"Two years ago I was a bit worried that Poland could be left behind in a two-tier EU and outside the eurozone, but today Poland is clearly in the top economic tier, and I see no strong reason to abandon our own currency," he added.

The OECD forecast in December that Poland's economy will grow by 3.4% this year, the fastest rate among EU countries.

Under EU rules, member states that do not use the euro are required to adopt the currency once they meet fiscal and monetary criteria.

Domanski said Warsaw is instead seeking a larger role on the global economic stage, including possible membership in the G20 group of major economies.

Poland has been invited by US President Donald Trump to attend this year's G20 summit in Miami as an observer, after its gross domestic product surpassed $1 trillion last year, making it the world's 20th-largest economy.