The European Parliament approved Slovakia's entry to eurozone as of January 1, 2009. At the same time, MEPs appeals to the Slovak Government to go an extra mile in order to keep inflation under control and to continue structural economic reforms.

The European Central Bank has revalued the Slovakian crown against the euro by 17.6472 percent, setting a new central exchange rate in its trading band ahead of planned euro adoption at 30.12. The standard fluctuation band of plus or minus 15 percent continues to be observed around the central rate.

Slovakia, which is due to adopt the common European currency in January 2009, will have the lowest average salary in the eurozone - at around €640 per month, while the average for countries such as Luxembourg, Germany and Finland ranges from €2,900 to €4,000.

The Slovak crown (slovenska koruna) strengthened on Monday to a new record of Sk31.47 per euro before stabilising on the level of Sk31.50 per euro. Against the US dollar, Slovak crown also set a new record on 20.14 SKK/USD due to the weakening of the dollar against the euro.

Slovakia has cleared a crucial hurdle toward adopting the euro next year when European Commission and the European Central Bank said the country had met a set of strict economic standards.

Slovak political analysts agree that entry to the eurozone will certainly entail risks, but that is something that has to be accepted. The country is completing its integration to become a fully-fledged EU member. The move, however, may spell problems mainly in terms of the living standards of certain social classes.

The European Commission as expected recommended in its report that Slovakia should be allowed to join the eurozone as of January 1, 2009.
The EC's decision is based on Slovakia's fulfilment of the Maastricht convergence criteria and on the recommendation of the European Central Bank.

Presenting the spring economic prognoses of the European Commission on Monday, European Commissioner responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia refused to comment on whether Slovakia meets the Maastricht criteria necessary for the country's accession to the Eurozone.

Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska during his official trip to Finland asked his Finnish counterpart Saulim Niinistoom to support Slovakia's introduction of the euro.