EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

Minister of Finance Rimantas Sadzius made an attempt to convince the members of the Seimas Political Group of the Liberals' Movement that the euro introduction in 2015 was necessary to Lithuania, yet he failed. In the opinion of the liberals, the Government is preparing for the entry in the eurozone too superficially.

Chair of the Seimas Political Group of the Liberals' Movement Eligijus Masiulis was asked what arguments raised the doubts of the liberals about the approach of the Government and what the position of the liberals was on the planned date of the euro introduction. "Firstly, as a member of the eurozone Lithuania would commit to contribute greatly to the Stabilisation Fund, if I am not mistaken, the sum would amount to EUR 800 million. Without a doubt it is great burden for our taxpayers. Secondly, we see that the current Government considers this introduction of the euro as some goal in itself. I am not against the euro myself but I think that the euro must be introduced only then, when it will be beneficial to our people, our economy," said Masiulis.

According to Masiulis, there is no plan provided regarding the way the euro will be introduced. There is no guarantee that the prices would not rise after the adoption of the euro. As the examples of Estonia and other countries show, the prices for food did not change mechanically. After the introduction of the euro, prices increased. According to Masiulis, the third issue for consideration is that people are not psychologically ready for the fact that their income would appear lower, while it is a question if their purchasing power will remain the same. "To introduce the euro, the rate of inflation must be low as well as the deficit of the budget. If the Government would attempt to stop inflation than it can be forecasted that after the introduction of the euro the inflation would very soon go up. People would be very disappointed," said Masiulis.