BUDAPEST, October 6. /TASS/. The Hungarian government currently has no plans to introduce the single European currency, the euro, in the country, as it does not wish to create even closer links with the European Union, which is under threat of disintegration, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview published by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Economx Money Talks podcast.

"This issue will definitely not be on my agenda," Orban said regarding the prospects of Hungary joining the eurozone. He explained that "the EU is currently being shaken," and therefore he would not want to further bind his country’s fate to this union. "Unless radical changes occur, the European Union will remain merely a temporary episode in our lives," the prime minister said.

Previously, the Hungarian government has repeatedly noted that the country is not yet ready to introduce the euro, as it does not meet the Maastricht criteria. These criteria were established by the 1992 Treaty on European Union and concern the financial and economic indicators necessary for joining the eurozone. They assess the stability of the financial system, price levels and exchange rate stability.

The question of joining the eurozone has been before Hungary since it joined the EU in 2004. The government has previously stated that the country cannot yet take such a step, as it would not withstand economic rivalry, including due to the loss of an independent monetary and financial policy.

The monetary union within the EU currently comprises 20 countries whose official currency is the euro. Besides Hungary, the EU members that do not yet use the single currency are Bulgaria, Denmark, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Sweden.