The Euro ‘conquest’ Lithuania is the 19th member – The Republic

The Euro 'conquest' Lithuania is the 19th member – The Republic

MILAN – At midnight the euro has welcomed a new country and, with the entry of Lithuania, now the single currency, created 15 years ago and in actual circulation by 13, will be used in 19 countries .

Despite the crisis, Euroscepticism and the various hypotheses of referendum to return to the old national currencies, and despite concerns of the markets for the next elections in Greece, the euro then continues its path of the single currency, launched in 1999 by Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland, which was subsequently added to Greece in time for the start of the circulation of coins and banknotes since 2002 .

The accession of Vilnius, according to the Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the single currency, the “close” baltic Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian, “marks the completion of the return of all the Baltic States in the heart of the political and economic system of our continent. It ‘a symbolic date not only for Lithuania, but for the same Eurozone, which remains stable, attractive and open to new entrants. “

GDP in Lithuania, 3.3 million inhabitants, is growing from 2010 (+ 2.7% this year and 3.1% in 2015 according to estimates by Brussels), with a public debt of 41.3% and a drop in unemployment estimated at 11 , 2% from 11.8% in 2013.

With a product of just € 35 billion, the entrance of Lithuania in the Eurozone, today, hardly alter the balance and the prospects of the area, but from symbolic point of view, the choice of the small Baltic republic to join the troubled project socioeconomic represented by the single currency has a value much greater. With the entry of Vilnius (the capital, however, where it triggered the mechanism that led to the collapse of ‘Soviet Union) is full membership of the Baltic states, but especially confirms the attractiveness delll’Eurozona in a geopolitical context turbulent to say the least.

The Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici recalls that “sound fiscal policies and structural reforms successfully conducted from Lithuania have generated growth rates among the highest in Europe, accompanied by a steady decline in unemployment.”

“Lithuania has taken measures exceptional in difficult times to achieve the objectives required to join the euro: these results will benefit at the same time the Eurozone Lithuania “, says instead the governor of the ECB, Mario Draghi, in a video posted on Youtube. “The Eurozone – continues Dragons – is enhanced by the entry of this small country with a great history, the great culture and great economic achievements. From now on, the central banker of Vilnius, Vitas Vasiliauskas, will be full component of the Council ECB, where he will participate in an active way to the monitoring of political Eurozone. This – concludes Dragons – shows that in an era in which nation states are increasingly interconnected, share sovereignty means increasing sovereignty. Congratulations and welcome, Lithuania, “he concludes.

Now, following a practice already tested and perfected over the past two years from Latvia and Estonia, the euro will gradually replace the” lita “as the currency of payment. It ‘will be a transition period of two weeks, during which the two currencies will be used in parallel to allow the withdrawal of the analyte. The official conversion rate is a euro for 3.45289 litas.