EU officially approves Latvia as 18th member of eurozone
BRUSSELS, July 9. KAZINFORM - Latvia is set to to adopt the euro as its currency as of Jan. 1, 2014, becoming the 18th member of the single currency area, according to a decision adopted by European Union (EU) finance ministers on Tuesday, according to XINHUA.
"From Jan. 1 next year, Latvians can begin making purchases in euro," Olli Rehn, EU commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said at a press conference after a meeting of EU finance ministers.
Euro notes and coins will be issued in Latvia on Jan. 1, 2014, and the conversion rate is set at 0.702804 Latvian lats to one euro, Rehn said.
Latvia's formal adoption of the euro followed a series of decisions, starting with the euro area member states recommending on June 21 in favor of the European Commission's proposal to allow Latvia to join the currency union.
In the light of reports from the Commission and the European Central Bank, the European Council on June 27 and 28 welcomed the fact that Latvia had fulfilled all the "convergence criteria" set out in the EU Treaty and the Commission's proposal for it to join the euro.
The European Parliament gave a favorable opinion on the Commission's proposal to allow Latvia to join the eurozone on 3 July, the ECB on 5 July.