Skip to main content

Lithuania to adopt euro currency in January

By WTOP Staff

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is giving Lithuania the green light to adopt the euro currency starting next year.

Ministers from the 28-nation bloc on Wednesday cleared the final legal hurdle for Lithuania to become the 19th member of the currency zone encompassing some 330 million people. The country had been given preliminary approval in June.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said adopting the euro will strengthen the Baltic nation’s economy.

Alluding to the tensions with Russia over Ukraine, he added deeper integration with western Europe “means greater security as well.”

Lithuania’s Baltic neighbors, Estonia and Latvia, are already members of the euro. All three countries achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The euro is just emerging from years of financial stress following debt problems in a number of countries.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Emergency guide: What you should do to prepare for emergencies

By WTOP Staff
WASHINGTON — Do you know what you'd do if an emergency hits? What if you're at work, your spouse is stuck in traffic and your children are in school? There's no way to plan for every emergency, but you can make sure you're prepared for different scenarios, including making a plan for your family and building a kit of emergency supplies.
Read Next Story

Related News

Help! My Child Is ‘Failing to Thrive’

More than 200 sickened aboard Baltimore cruise ship

Unsafe in any freeze: Some 4WD vehicles have major limitations