Lithuania will become the 19th Eurozone member from 2015 onwards, according to the European Commission, since the Baltic country meets all the necessary requirements.

The final decision on Lithuania’s admission in the eurozone is expected to be taken by EU finance ministers next month.

Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Economic, Monetary Affairs and the Euro, stated that “the Eurozone remains an attractive community, and thanks to the actions of the last five years, it is in a much better place, weathering the fiscal crisis storm”.

The European Central Bank (ECB), whose decision is necessary for the admission of new member-states to the monetary zone, had published a report certifying the country’s progress, raising questions -however- about whether Lithuania could maintain low inflation levels in the long-term.

In order for a country to adopt the common currency, it must meet convergence criteria (Maastricht criteria), among which is a public deficit not exceeding 3% of GDP, public debt at 60%, low inflation and low interest rates, and a stable exchange rate of its currency with the Euro.

According to the EC, Lithuania has managed to meet all the criteria and will become the next country to be accepted into the eurozone, as the 19 member, on January 1st, 2015.

Apart from Great Britain and Denmark, who have “opted-out”, all other EU countries have pledged to adopt the euro as their currency at some point. The other two Baltic countries are already members of the Eurozone, with Estonia having joined in 2011 and Latvia on January 2014.

With Lithuania’s entry, the Eurozone area will consist of 19 Member States, with a total population of 334 million people and a GDP of 9.5 trillion euro.