Joining euro could be 'extremely harmful', says Polish Central Bank chief

POLAND (AA) - Polish Central Bank Governor Adam Glapinski said Thursday that the possibility of his country's joining the euro is "extremely harmful."

He previously vowed to block the move as long as he is in charge of monetary policy.

Glapinski said at a news conference that there could be a "radical" drop in growth if Poland starts using the euro instead of the Zloty.

Making the euro the currency of Poland would benefit the wealthy who spend money abroad and those who own property abroad, he said. "We have the Polish currency that appreciates in the free market.”

Although interest rates have not changed in recent months, the zloty has strengthened and stabilized, contrary to the thoughts of "doomsayers," he said.

Glapinski also pointed out that some EU countries that use the euro have inflation exceeding 20%, and added the transition to the euro alone will not help fight inflation.

The eurozone refers to an economic and geographic region consisting of all EU countries that incorporate the euro as their national currency.

The 20 eurozone members are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

*Writing and contributions by Aysu Bicer