The European Parliament’s vote is advisory.
The final decision on Lithuania’s entry to the euro area will be made by EU ministers later this month.
The European Commission has already agreed that Lithuania should join the single currency club.
Lithuania will become the 19th member of the euro area.
EP’s “yes” ends discussions on Lithuania’s readiness for euro adoption readiness
Minister of Finance Rimantas Sadzius says that the EP’s endorsement puts an end to discussions regarding Lithuania’s readiness to join the euro zone.
“Next week already the EU Council is expected to adopt the final decision and officially announce the euro introduction date in Lithuania as well as irrevocable exchange rate of litas and euro. Lithuania will become the 19th member of the Eurogroup,” said the minister.
Members of the European Parliament favourably regard the fact that Lithuania meets all of the requirements, while such important indicators like inflation, general government debt and gross debt ratio are well below reference values.
The European Commission and the European Central Bank announced in early June that Lithuania satisfies all Maastricht criteria and is ready to join the euro on 1 January 2015.
Be the first to comment