"The final conclusion of whether to invite [Lithuania into the euro area] or not will be written by the EU institutions; however, in the Bank of Lithuania's assessment, there are no more reasons left for a negative decision," says Vitas Vasiliauskas, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania. According to him, the recorded indicators and their forecasted development are in accordance, with a safe margin, to the forecasted convergence criteria. Vasiliauskas believes that "even if we do receive certain remarks, our current numbers should be able to convince the assessors that Lithuania has reached a sufficient convergence level and, even more importantly, that this process is consistent and sustainable."
According to data of 15 May, on the basis of which the ECB and EC's convergence reports were prepared, the general government debt-to-GDP ratio in the assessment period was 39.4%, i.e. significantly less than the maximum allowed size of 60%. The general government deficit-to-GDP ratio amounts to 2.2% of GDP, or 0.8 p.p. less than the allowed 3.0% threshold. The long-term interest rate indicator in Lithuania is 3.6%, while the criterion's value – no less than 5.4%. Having constantly decreased over two years, the average annual inflation measure in Lithuania in April was at 0.6%. Right now the ECB is also assessing the inflation measures of which countries are exceptional and therefore shouldn't be included in counting the price stability criteria; therefore its size is still unknown, but, regardless of which current assessment option will be selected, Lithuania will still be in compliance with this criterion. The price stability criterion is the annual inflation arithmetic average of three EU countries where prices are the most stable, and this average is increased by 1.5 p.p.
The ECB and EC plans to announce the reports on Lithuania's economic and legal convergence in early June. Those reports will be the basis for the EC's proposal to the Council of the European Union regarding the euro adoption in Lithuania. The EU Council's final decision is expected at the end of July.
Minister of Finance Rimantas Sadzius assessing Lithuania's inflation indicators for April, published by Eurostat, says that the data has confirmed preliminary evaluations.
"April's data is a reference point based on which Lithuania's fulfilment of the Maastricht criteria will be evaluated. It is obvious that Lithuania meets all the requirements set for euro area candidates," Sadzius said.
According to the minister of finance, it is yet another positive indicator showing that the country is ready for the euro area. "We only have to wait for official conclusions and recommendations of the European Commission and the European Central Bank, which would not only asses Lithuania's conformity to the Maastricht criteria but also the long-term sustainability," the minister said.