Lithuania gets EU's green light for euro accession

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Lithuania will at the beginning of the next year become the 19th member of the euro zone after receiving the go-ahead from EU finance ministers on Friday, leaving only nine EU countries outside of the single currency club.

The widely expected green light follows a recommendation by the European Commission earlier this month that the Baltic republic join the single currency after it met all the criteria - a stable exchange rate, low inflation and interest rates and public debt and deficit within EU limits.

"Today is a very important day for Lithuania," the country's Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius said when arriving at the meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg.

"This is not the end of the path for Lithuania but just the beginning. Lithuania will try to be a responsible member of the euro zone and we understand we will face challenges, we will carry responsibilities as a member of the club and not only use the benefits."

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/20/uk-lithuania-euro-idUKKBN0EV13P20140620