The European Commission published the bi-annual 2014 Convergence Report which details Lithuania has fulfilled all the requirements to join the Eurozone and decided to propose the EU Council of Ministers meeting in late June of adoption in the country as of 1 January 2015.
18 other EU member states already joined the euro, Denmark and UK decided not to seek their inclusion and 8 more are willing but still not fulfill all the requirements according to the report.
Lithuania met all requirements for inclusion in Eurozone. Quantitative metrics comprised inflation, fiscal deficit and public debt as a percentage of GDP, exchange rate stability and long-term interest rate caps. Other qualitative factors considered were balance of payments developments and integration of product, monetary, labor and financial markets.
Olli Rehn, Commission Vice-President responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, said: “Lithuania’s readiness to adopt the euro reflects its long-standing support for prudent fiscal policies and economic reforms. That reform momentum, driven in part by Lithuania’s EU accession ten years ago, has led to a striking increase in Lithuanians’ prosperity: the country’s per capita GDP has risen from just 35% of the EU28 average in 1995 to a projected 78% in 2015.”
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