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Lithuania is fully complying with the strict membership criteria and is invited to join the eurozone, the European Union Council of Ministers concluded yesterday (July 23). Thus, from 1 January 2015 Lithuania will officially switch to euro and will become the 19th member of the core EU currency club.

The EU Council also adopted regulations setting a permanent conversion rate for the Lithuanian litas to the euro, and adapting certain technical provisions.

The conversion rate is set at 3.45280 Lithuanian litas to the euro, which corresponds to the current central rate of the litas in the EU's exchange rate mechanism.

“The entry of Lithuania into the euro family is not only a crucial event for this partner country, but it is of great importance for the whole eurozone", said Sandro Gozi, State Secretary for EuropeanAffairs of Italy and President of the Council of the EU. “It’s a demonstration of the continuing attractiveness of the single currency project and its relevance for the future of our community.”

“Lithuania's consistent efforts have paid off: today the eurozone has opened the door for us”, said Algirdas Butkevičius, Prime Minister of Lithuania.

“The adoption of the euro has been Lithuania's strategic step, well thought-out economically and politically, to foster national economic growth. Lithuania's accession to the single European currency will strengthen the EU's Economic and Monetary Union. Deeper euro integration means greater security as well,” added the Prime Minister.

The EU Council’s decision is the last in the chain of verification procedure that was bound to establish whether the applicant country is in full convergence with the membership criteria.

Two evaluation reports were published by the European Commission and the European Central Bank earlier this year, on the basis of which the Council had adopted a recommendation in favor of Lithuania joining the currency union.

On 27 June the European Council (of Heads of States) welcomed the fact that Lithuania had fulfilled all the convergence criteria set out in the EU treaties and endorsed the Commission's proposal for it to join the euro.

The European Central Bank gave its consent on 14 July, followed by the decision of the European Parliament on 16 July.

Lithuania had already applied for the eurozone membership back in 2006, but was declined on the basis of “too high” inflation. The inflation in Lithuania at that time was 0.1% above the average inflation in the eurozone.

18 EU member states currently belong to the eurozone, including Lithuania’s Baltic neighbors Finland, Latvia and Estonia.

Source: Council of the European Union