VILNIUS, July 23 (RAPSI) - On Wednesday, the Council of the European Union in Brussels made a final decision on Lithuania’s inclusion in the euro zone starting January 1, 2015, Italian Secretary of State for European Affairs Sandro Gozi said at a news conference that was broadcast online in real time.

The EU Council ruled that the national currency exchange rate with the Euro will remain the same, 3.4528 litas to the euro, upon Lithuania’s joining the euro zone. Litas have been tied to the euro at a fixed rate since February 1, 2002.

The European Commission recommended that the related EU country ministries rule in favor of Lithuania’s accession back on June 4. The European Central Bank also approved of the introduction of Euro in the republic, as did the European Parliament.

In order to switch to the euro, Lithuania was supposed to meet euro convergence criteria, which are: its budget deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP, its national debt must not exceed 60% of GDP, and the inflation rate shall be no more than 1.5% higher than the unweighted mathematical average of similar inflation rates in the three EU member states with the lowest HICP inflation. After joining the currency union, Lithuania’s Central Bank will be included in the euro zone system of central banks. The country’s financial institutions will integrate with the euro zone’s bank system and will be able to participate in the European Central Bank’s operations on the open market.