Poland pushes decision on joining euro to after 2015

(WARSAW) - Poland will decide on a suitable date for joining the 17-member eurozone after the 2015 presidential and legislative elections have been held, the country's leaders said Tuesday, ending a push for a quick decision.

"I think we can assume we will concentrate fully on respecting the Maastricht criteria... in order to calmly take decisions on whether Poland will enter the eurozone or not after the 2015 elections," President Bronislaw Komorowski said Tuesday during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Poland, which joined the European Union in 2004, has previously said it will meet by 2015 the Maastricht Treaty criteria for eurozone entry -- covering areas such as inflation, debt and deficit levels -- but has yet to peg a date for abandoning the zloty because of the European debt crisis.

The president said the new government will have all the elements it needs to allow it "make the decision that will safeguard the Polish economy and help it maintain its competitiveness also after joining the eurozone."

Tusk said he endorsed the president's plan. "Poland is approaching the eurozone in a progressive, calm and resolute manner and the goal is the safety of the Polish state and all its citizens."

The two leaders have been divided on when Poland should make its decision on joining the euro.

Tusk last month relaunched a debate on Poland's eurozone entry, pushing for a decision to be made "in the coming months."

Komorowski has advocating holding off until after the country meets the Maastricht criteria.