Brussels, 08/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 January, the Czech finance minister, Miroslav Kalusek, announced that on 1 November the Czech government will state the date the country intends to join the Eurozone. According to several press agencies, the minister declared that accession would be on 1 January 2013 at the earliest. Mr Kalusek announced: “I am not worried about our ability to respect criteria”. He welcomed the fact that they had kept the level of the deficit of GDP in 2008 down to 1.2%. In the most recent economic forecasts, the Commission expects a deficit of 1.3% of GDP in 2009 and 1.4% in 2010, with debt falling slightly to around 26% of GDP. As well as the criteria on the budget and debt, Prague is also expected to meet inflation criteria and long term interest rate targets. The Czech Republic is also expected to join the exchange rate mechanism (ERM) for a minimum of two consecutive years. During this period, the Czech crown may fluctuate at around 15% of central rates pegged to the euro. (A.B./transl.rh)