Euro area countries recommend Latvia euro accession

COUCIL OF
THE EUROPEA UIO EN
Luxembourg, 21 June 2013
11276/13
PRESSE 275
Euro area countries recommend Latvia euro accession

The euro area member states today adopted a recommendation in favour of a proposal to allow Latvia to join the currency union on 1 January 2014.

They agreed with the Commission’s assessment that Latvia has achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence and therefore fulfils the necessary conditions for adoption of the
euro as its currency. The Council is expected to adopt the decision in July, after consulting
the European Parliament and following a discussion in the European Council on 27 and
28 June.

The euro area member states’ recommendation draws on reports from the Commission and
the European Central Bank on the fulfilment by Latvia of convergence criteria and other
requirements that are a necessary precondition for joining the euro.

The reports assess the compatibility of Latvia’s legislation with EU treaty provisions and
with the statute of the European system of central banks. They examine progress in
fulfilment of the convergence criteria — namely price stability, the government’s budgetary
position, exchange rate stability and long-term interest rates — and several other factors.

The reports and proposals are based on article 140 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union, which requires a qualified majority of euro area member states for a
decision by the Council.

SAP Euro Conversion

(c) http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/137564.pdf