Poland's conservatives vow no euro if win polls

(WARSAW) - Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party said Thursday it would not have the country adopt the European single currency if it wins, as polls currently predict, the autumn general election.

"My government... certainly will not work on the introduction of the euro in Poland," Beata Szydlo, PiS's hopeful for prime minister told reporters in Warsaw.

"Forget this bad idea unless you want Poland to become a second Greece," she added, raising eurozone entry as a campaign issue for the first time as the bloc struggles with the Greek debt crisis.

Nearly 70 percent of Poles said they opposed joining the bloc, according to recent surveys.

Central Europe's largest and most vibrant economy, Poland is required to join the currency union under the terms of its 2004 EU entry agreement, but there is no deadline for it to do so.

In government for two consecutive terms, the centrist Civic Platform Party (PO) has vowed Poland will meet the Maastricht Treaty's macro-economic requirements for eurozone entry by the end of this year.

However PO leaders insist Poland will only join once the bloc's debt problems become a thing of the past.

Their party scored a second term in office with a November 2011 landslide, but high unemployment -- especially among young people -- and a high profile eavedropping scandal have since taken a heavy toll on public support.

Meanwhile, the PiS has gained significant ground in opinion polls, with many suggesting it could win the autumn general election.

PiS candidate Andrzej Duda, a relative political novice, scored a surprise victory in May's presidential election, edging out veteran politician and PO ally President Bronislaw Komorowski.