Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Central Bank, the European economic and social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.Fifteenth Report on the practical preparations for the future enlargement of the euro area.

Abstract

The Council decided on 23 July 2014 that Lithuania fulfils the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro1. Lithuania will adopt the euro on 1 January 2015 ("€-day"). This will bring the total number of euro area Member States to nineteen, including now all three Baltic states. The conversion rate was irrevocably set at 3.45280 Lithuanian litas per one euro2, which corresponds to the previous central rate of the litas in the EU's exchange rate mechanism (ERM II). Lithuania's practical preparations for the changeover have now entered the final phase. Following the first dedicated report of the Commission on Lithuania's practical preparations3, this Report assesses further progress made since mid-June until end of September 2014. It addresses the preparations for the introduction of euro cash, the measures put in place for protecting consumers in the changeover period, such as the "Memorandum on Good Business Practice upon the Introduction of the Euro", and the communication campaign. The Commission Staff Working Document attached to this Report provides details on the preparations for the introduction of the euro in the remaining Member States that have not yet adopted the single currency and do not have a legal opt-out.