The unstable króna during the banking and financial crisis led some to propose adopting the euro. But Jürgen Stark of the European Central Bank said this would require joining the European Union. As of May 2012, Iceland did not meet any of the convergence criteria. The country managed to comply with the deficit criteria in 2013 and had begun to decrease its debt-to-GDP ratio, but still had elevated HICP inflation and long-term governmental interest rates.
