Survey: Majority of Hungarians Support the Introduction of Euro

Hungary Today 2023.07.05.

Hungarians are open to the introduction of euro, but the overwhelming majority say the country is not yet ready to adopt it, Világgazdaság reports.

According to the latest Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission, a large number (60%) of people in EU Member States who have not yet adopted the euro believe that the common currency will have a positive impact on those who have.

The survey was carried out in April 2023, in the six non-euro area Member States, namely Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, which have legally committed to adopting the euro.

The survey shows that a majority of respondents believe that the introduction of the euro would have positive consequences for their country (53%), and for themselves personally (56%).

58% of those polled support the introduction of the euro in their country.

This support is strongest in Hungary (72%) and Romania (71%), followed by Poland (55%), Sweden (54%), Bulgaria (49%), and the Czech Republic (44%).

The Year of the Forint

The strengthening of the forint continued in the second quarter of 2023, while in the first half of the year it was only outperformed by the Mexican pesoContinue reading

For Hungary, the survey found that over a ten-year period, support for the introduction of the euro among Hungarians has increased to 72% and opposition to it has decreased by three percent to 25%.

62 percent of Hungarian respondents think that the introduction of the single EU currency would have a positive impact on the country’s finances, while 31 percent disagree. 65% of Hungarians fear that the changeover to the euro will lead to higher prices.

26% of Hungarian respondents think that the introduction of the euro will cause the country to lose part of its identity,

72% disagree. 27% of Hungarians think that Hungary would lose control over its economic policy with the introduction of the euro, while 70% disagreed.

A photo of an old 100 forint banknote. Photo via Pixabay

Fact

The forint was a known currency in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and has been used in other countries throughout history. After the Second World War, on August 1, 1946, following the hyperinflation of 1945-46, the current forint was introduced to replace the Hungarian pengo.

Finally, the survey showed that 41 percent of Hungarians would introduce the euro in Hungary immediately, 35 percent would wait, 13 percent would wait as long as possible before introducing the EU currency in Hungary, and nine percent would never change the forint for the euro.

Via Világgazdaság, Featured image via Pexels