Awaiting Eurozone Membership

The biggest bank in Austria Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) www.ba-ca.com, has recently stated that Lithuania’s economic progress makes the country undoubtedly ready to be announced the member of the Eurozone at the beginning of 2007.
Ms. Marianne Kager, Chief Economist of BA-CA, admits that Lithuania has already accomplished almost all the requirements raised for the candidates to join the euro area. Estonia and Slovenia are acknowledged by the BA-CA analyst as also ready to be invited to become members of the zone at the beginning of 2007 together with Lithuania.

"The euro will be legal tender in Estonia and Lithuania and also in Slovenia in less than one and a half years. The Slovenian tolar, the Estonian crown and the Lithuanian litas, which are linked to the euro via a currency board, have been moving within the permitted fluctuation margins of +/-15 per cent against the euro without any problems. The budget deficit in the three countries is below 3 per cent, total public debt is significantly lower than the permitted level of 60 per cent of GDP, and long-term interest rates are below 5.2 per cent. Exchange rates are stable. " says Ms. Kager.

According to BA-CA's economists, Latvia will probably join the euro area on 1 January 2008. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are expected to become Eurozone members in 2010.