Following Lithuania’s accession to the European Union (EU) and the entry into force of the legal commitment of adopting the euro in Lithuania arising from the Treaty of Accession, with the precondition of participating in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) for a period of at least two years, there have been public comments on this issue that misinterpret the adopted decisions, the above commitments of Lithuania and the plans concerning the adoption of the euro in the future.
As announced previously, the Bank of Lithuania and the Government have already adopted the decision of joining ERM II following EU accession, which requires Lithuania to spend at least a two-year period in the mechanism before the adoption of the euro, subject to compliance with the established criteria. In view of the existing procedures with regard to the provision of information on joining ERM II, countries applying for joining ERM II do not announce publicly the date of the application. Such procedures have been adopted on the grounds that decisions on endorsing a country’s participation in ERM II involve not only to the joining country but also all euro area countries and countries already participating in ERM II.
Therefore, any comments and forecasts by third parties on the timing of ERM II entry are not in line with the established practices on providing information on this issue. Moreover, inaccurate interpretations of Lithuania’s plans of adopting the euro in the future do not contribute to the formation of clear market expectations.
Lithuania is well prepared for participation in ERM II and will join the mechanism at the earliest possible date. Lithuanian has undertaken the obligation to adopt the euro by becoming a EU Member State and is expected to adopt the euro after spending the minimum two years in ERM II, subject to compliance with the set criteria, in late 2006 or early 2007.