Adopting the Euro in the Midst of Crisis. Lithuania: a Case Study

Abstract

Lithuania has been one of only three nations to adopt the euro since the global financial crisis rocked the world and tested the viability of the Eurozone as a single currency union. Despite uncertainty about the future of the euro, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia went forward with adoption. This paper examines Lithuania’s road to the euro from 2004, when it joined the European Union, through to entry into the Eurozone on January 1, 2015. It summarizes the costs and benefits of Economic Monetary Union from both an economic and political standpoint, and analyzes the actions and statements of key players – the government, the organized opposition, the central bank and the general public – and their influence on the adoption process in Lithuania.