LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Lithuania will at the beginning of the next year become the 19th member of the euro zone after receiving the go-ahead from EU finance ministers on Friday, leaving only nine EU countries outside of the single currency club.
The widely expected green light follows a recommendation by the European Commission earlier this month that the Baltic republic join the single currency after it met all the criteria - a stable exchange rate, low inflation and interest rates and public debt and deficit within EU limits.