Finance minister says president’s comments on central bank are unacceptable

Minister of Finance Andrej Babiš has weighed into the controversy stirred up by President Miloš Zeman’s comments that he will not nominate members of the Czech National Bank (ČNB) board who are in favour of the current low crown exchange rate and will seek to appoint those who are in favour of the Czech Republic quickly joining the eurozone. Babiš reacted in comments to the daily Mladá Fronta Dnes that the central bank should be an independent institution and the president’s comments were unacceptable. Zeman is due to appoint a new governor of the national bank in 2016. He maintains that the low crown regime has delayed Czech membership of the Eurozone.

Author: Chris Johnstone