According to the findings of the survey conducted on 20-22 April, a majority of respondents in Romania, 68%, were in favour of the euro changeover, and also in Hungary (60%) Bulgaria (55%) and Croatia (53%).
In the other three countries covered by the survey, respondents seem disinclined to the euro changeover, thus, as many as 70% of those polled in the Czech Republic are against the euro introduction, 66% Swedes are also against and 53% of Polish respondents.
The 19-strong euro zone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Other EU states (except for Denmark and the United Kingdom) are obliged to join once they meet the criteria to do so.
Asked whether they think that their respective countries are ready for the euro changeover, as many as 77% of the Croats answered in the negative. Also, 86% of the Poles do not think that Poland is prepared for the introduction of the euro, and 82% of those polled in the Czech Republic find their country unprepared for the euro.
A majority of respondents in all those seven countries say their respective countries are not ready to fulfill euro convergence criteria.