The European Commission has advised that Lithuania has met the criteria for joining the European single currency, the euro.

To be able to adopt the euro, a country has to have government debt below 60% of gross domestic product (GDP), a budget deficit under 3% of GDP, low inflation and interest rates and its own currency must be stable against the euro.

The report states:

“The 2014 Convergence Report concludes that Lithuania meets the criteria for adopting the euro. As a consequence, the Commission is proposing that Lithuania adopt the euro on 1 January 2015 and that the Council abrogate the derogation accordingly. This formal decision is expected to be taken by the EU Council of Ministers in the second half of July 2014.”

Lithuania, which joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, will be the 19th country to become a member of the single currency. Of all the EU countries, only Britain and Denmark have continued using their own currency after negotiating formal opt-outs.

To read the full report click here.

Source: European Union, Reuters