2014-03-07
In the Council of Affairs of Retired Persons in Lithuania — the focus on the adoption of the euro
The Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, Vitas Vasiliauskas presented to the Council of Affairs of Retired Persons in Lithuania the most important aspects in the preparations for the adoption of the euro in Lithuania in 2015.
“Replacement of currency is quite a change in the life of a state; thus, naturally, events of any greater significance raise unfounded fears and myths about them are created. Such constructive discussions as today's discussion not only help dispel unfounded fears, but also provide practical knowledge that facilitates migration to the new currency,” the Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, Vitas Vasiliauskas said after a meeting with organisations of elderly people.
In the Council of Affairs of Retired Persons, practical aspects of currency replacement were discussed. V. Vasiliauskas underlined that litas would only be exchanged into euro at the Bank of Lithuania and commercial banks, also some branches of AB Lietuvos paštas. The population should be mindful: currency will not be exchanged either at home or, moreover, in the streets; in addition, no one will "take an inventory" of euros. No personal financial data can be disclosed by phone either.
According to V. Vasiliauskas, one of the most vital fears among the population is that euro adoption will entail price increases. Actually, however, as shows the experience of other countries and the assessment of the impact of the adoption of the euro in Lithuania conducted by the Bank of Lithuania, the implied impact on the price level is minimal and is not likely to exceed 0.2–0.3%.
Moreover, the state has envisaged a number of effective measures that will help protect consumer interests in the conversion of prices from litas into euro. They include dual pricing several months before and six months after euro adoption, monitoring of the prices of 100 most popular goods and services, and inspections by control institutions the activities of which will be coordinated by the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority. Furthermore, entrepreneurs intend to voluntarily undertake not to make use of euro adoption as a pretext for raising prices.
Lithuania expects to successfully meet the established requirements for euro adoption, the so-called Maastricht criteria, and on 1 January 2015 to adopt the single currency of the EU.