'Don't laugh', we still aim to join euro: Romanian president
(BERLIN) - Joking to journalists to please not laugh, President Traian Basescu reiterated after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday that Romania aimed to join the eurozone in 2015.
"We want to join the eurozone in 2015," he told a joint press conference with the German leader in Berlin, adding as an aside "please don't laugh", as the eurozone grapples with the domino effect of its crippling debt crisis.
"We do not believe in a fragmented Europe," he said, adding: "Romania supports the process of integration."
In order to join the currently 17-strong bloc of countries using the single currency, a candidate nation must meet five criteria, including a budget deficit under 3.0 percent and a low inflation rate.
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