European Union Finance Ministers are expected on Friday to give Lithuania a green light to adopt the euro currency next year, during talks in Luxembourg.
The move, which must still be approved by EU leaders and reviewed by the European Parliament, would pave the way for Lithuania to become the eurozone’s 19th member on January 1, 2015.
Earlier this month, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive, said the country had fulfilled all conditions. The 18 eurozone Finance Ministers added their nod of approval on Thursday.
Lithuania would be the last Baltic nation to adopt the euro, after Estonia did so in 2011 and Latvia followed suit this year.
EU Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn said the expected move was a sign of the eurozone’s vitality, after the crisis-battered currency bloc pulled out of recession last year.
“Contrary to what the Cassandras were saying some years ago, the eurozone did not break up, but instead it has been enlarged from 16 to 19,” Mr. Rehn said on Thursday.
One outstanding issue is the exchange rate at which Lithuanian litas will be converted into euros. This is to be decided early in July, an EU official said on condition of anonymity.
It is the second time that Lithuania has sought to adopt the euro, after an unsuccessful bid in 2006. At the time, it failed to achieve the required price stability, the commission said.
All EU countries except for Britain and Denmark are mandated to join the eurozone once they fulfil its economic criteria. Those still in line are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
The commission is also due on Friday to present Ministers with its 2015 budget proposal, which foresees an annual increase of about 5 per cent, to €142.1 billion ($193 million).
The EU’s executive has said that the “lion’s share” of spending will go into efforts to boost growth and jobs.
EU governments have repeatedly sparred with the parliament over the bloc’s budgets. Member states typically seek to limit expenditures, while the legislature has advocated growth-boosting spending.
