* Majority believes countries should not rush to euro
* Czech most sceptical about euro membership
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Citizens of former communist
countries that recently joined the European Union are
increasingly hesitant about adopting the euro currency quickly,
an opinion poll showed on Monday.
The share of people in the region who thought their country
should join the 16-nation euro zone as soon as possible shrank
to 25 percent in September last year from 28 percent in May, the
"Eurobarometer" survey said.
The number believing their country should adopt the currency
as late as possible rose to 33 percent from 29 percent, said the
poll, carried out for the executive European Commission. Some 36
percent said euro membership should come after "a certain time".
"Compared to the previous survey wave, more respondents were
hesitant about an immediate changeover," it said.
The poll could signal that many people are siding with
politicians who say preserving the national currency better
helps to deal with the economic crisis.
Advocates say euro membership is a safe-haven for any
country's economy.
The poll covered eight former communist countries that
joined the now 27-member EU in 2004 or 2007 and have not adopted
the euro. They are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.
The Czech Republic was the most euro-sceptic, with 47
percent of respondents believing the country should adopt the
single currency as late as possible and only 14 percent saying
it should do so at the earliest possible date.
In Poland, the EU's biggest ex-communist member, the
proportion was 39 percent versus 18 percent.
ESTONIA LEADS RACE
Among the eight, only in Hungary and Romania did more people
think the euro should be adopted as soon as possible rather than
as late as possible.
In the Czech Republic, 54 percent of people said the euro's
introduction would have very or rather negative consequences for
them while 37 percent believed they would be positive -- again
giving the most euro-sceptic responses among the bunch.
This part of the survey indicated Bulgarians and Romanians
had the highest hopes regarding euro membership.
Analysts say Estonia may join the euro next year but other
countries will have to wait much longer because they fail to
meet all the strict criteria on budget deficits, public debt,
inflation, long-term interest rates and currency stability.
The poll also showed a general lack of certainty on when
countries would adopt the euro. In Poland, 39 percent believed
it would happen in 2011-12, 20 percent in 2013-14 and 24 percent
in 2015 or later.
In crisis-hit Hungary, the highest share of people, 31
percent, thought their country would adopt the currency in 2015
or later. In the Czech Republic the figure was 24 percent.
(Editing by Dale Hudson)
