UPDATE 1-Czechs may join euro at the earliest in 2013- Finmin

                                
 (Adds background)
                                
 PRAGUE, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic can adopt the
euro currency in 2013 at the earliest if the government decides
this year to go ahead fast, Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek
said on Thursday.
                                
 The central European country has taken a cautious approach
toward joining the single currency, saying it needed to pick the
right moment to reap maximum benefits and limit the risks of
giving up independent monetary policy.
                                
 But Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said last week the
government would announce an entry date on Nov. 1 this year.
                                
 Kalousek told reporters that if the government decides to
join the euro as soon as possible, then "the earliest possible
date would be Jan.1, 2013."
                                
 The Czechs' former federation partner Slovakia joined the
single currency zone this month.
                                
 Poland has set 2012 as its euro adoption target, but the
government faces tough political opposition. Hungary, which
averted financial meltdown in October thanks to a $25 billion
rescue package led by the International Monetary Fund, has no
official entry date.
                                
 Joining the currently 16-strong euro club takes several
years, because an applicant country must spend at least two
years in a pre-euro exchange rate band, the ERM-2, to prove it
can hold its currency relatively stable.
                                
 Joining the euro in 2013 would require the Czechs to enter
the ERM-2 some time in early 2010 or earlier to allow for the
two-year period and some time for assessment.
                                
 Kalousek said he was confident the country would meet the
euro entry criteria on budget deficits, inflation, interest
rates, debt and currency stability.
                                
 "For the time being, it is exclusively a political
decision.... I am not worried about us adhering to the
criteria," he said.
 (Reporting by Mark John, writing by Jan Lopatka; editing by
Chris Pizzey)