The key participants in this process are the Bank of Lithuania, banks and the Lithuanian Post. Cash-in-transit and cash handling companies, distribution businesses and services providing businesses will also participate.
The Bank of Lithuanian will have to acquire 132 million units of euro banknotes and 370 million units of euro and euro cent coins to satisfy the demand for them at the time of euro adoption and to ensure their necessary stocks.
The Bank of Lithuania is going to borrow the amount of euro banknotes necessary for our state to adopt the euro from some national central bank within the Eurosystem. In the future, it would repay the debt by ordering and printing the euro amount borrowed in some banknotes and security documents printing works accredited by the European Central Bank (ECB) and having the right to print euro banknotes. The Guidelines provide that the Bank of Lithuania, upon coordination with the ECB, which of the euro area NCBs will supply euro banknotes, will, no later than before 31 July 2014, sign an agreement with this bank on the borrowing of euro banknotes. It is projected to repay the debt in banknotes for the euro banknotes borrowed in 2016.
The euro and euro coins needed by Lithuania will be minted at by the Lithuanian Mint. It will also produce euro coin sets for the public and two types of euro coin sets for retailers. The Bank of Lithuania is projecting, no later than by 30 June 2014, to sign an agreement with the Lithuanian Mint on the minting of euro coins and production of euro coin sets. The Lithuanian Mint is ready to mint Lithuanian euro and euro cent coins. The minting of euro coins will only begin once the EU Council takes a decision on euro adoption in Lithuania.
It is planned to produce 900 thousand euro coin sets for the public (with their value EUR 11.59), 60 thousand euro coin sets for retailers (with the value of variant 1 of EUR 111.00) and 50 thousand euro coin sets for retailers (with the value of variant II of EUR 200.00). The Bank of Lithuania and banks will begin selling the euro coin sets for the public on 1 December 2014, and the Lithuanian Post – 4 December 2014.
The Bank of Lithuania will prepare its vaults for the safekeeping of euro. It is believed that the available vault area will be sufficient for the safekeeping.
The Guidelines on Cash Changeover will be published on the website of the Bank of Lithuania.
