The Blundered Strategy of Euro Adoption in the Czech Republic: A ”Pre-crisis“ Retrospective

The commitment to join the eurozone in 2009-2010 was rejected by Czech Republic in 2006 at a time when signs of the eurozone crisis were not yet apparent. Nor did the prospects of failure to fulfil any of the Maastricht Convergence Criteria have any realistic basis. Real or alleged difficulties in meeting the Maastricht Convergence Criteria and attaining economic alignment with the eurozone did not serve as a mobilization factor for economic policies. Instead, these issues were perceived to offer an objective reason against euro adoption within the declared timeframe. The official stance against the euro was partly based on serious analytical and short-term forecasting errors, if not on deliberate manipulations, including an overemphasised misalignment of the Czech economy with the eurozone.