Isarescu: The euro zone can be a black box if we are unprepared

The adoption of the euro before the economy has adjusted, and before local companies have become competitive on foreign markets can be a trap – this was one of the few conclusions of a seminar on export competitiveness organised by the NBR yesterday.

“To regard the euro zone as some sort of a cure-all is dangerous. We are getting into a black box, unless we are well prepared. Once you have entered the euro zone with an imbalanced exchange rate, the only solution to gain competitiveness is to cut salaries and spending,” Governor Mugur Isarescu warned, mentioning the example of the crisis Greece was going through.

It is each company’s responsibility to make the necessary investments to become competitive, and the macroeconomic policies cannot substitute such efforts, said Surica Rosentuler, head of the Economic Studies Department of the NBR. “Dacia is fighting with Fiat on foreign markets, not with Italy.” She, too, warned that once the shift to euro happened, the exporters would no longer be able to request the National Bank to depreciate the exchange rate to help them.