According to a new poll, seven-in-ten Poles are opposed to ditching the zloty and adopting the euro, fearing rising prices and a loss of sovereignty over the currency.

photo - ecb.int

The CBOS pollster found that 68 percent are against Poland taking up the European single currency, with 24 percent supporting the move, a drop of five percentage points since February 2013.

Foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna told parliament last week that though adopting the single currency was still on the government's agenda, setting a date was “premature”.

Forty nine percent of respondents told the pollster that they feared the euro would be bad for the Polish economy – up nine percent from a year and half ago.

Sixty four percent said they expected prices in the shops to rise if Poland were to take up the currency, with 27 percent fearing a loss of control over fiscal policy.

The poll was taken between 9 and 15 October from a representative sample of 919. (pg)