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Thursday, 18.04.2024, 19:36
EP president: Latvia's eurozone membership is a historical turning point -
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The European Parliament president expressed the point of view that eurozone membership will offer Latvia many new benefits if the country's leaders make the right decisions.
Schulz also congratulated Latvia on successfully achieving the necessary criteria for eurozone membership, at a time when the Latvian government also had to deal with the economic crisis.
''In many cases, Latvia can be seen as a brave example for troubled eurozone countries,'' Schulz said.
As reported, today, European Parliament members voted in support of Latvia's bid to join the eurozone. 613 MEPs voted in support of the resolution on the adoption of the euro in Latvia, while 67 voted against.
The resolution praises the efforts of the Latvian people in overcoming the financial crisis. At the same time, it points out that Latvia must continue with reforms and lessen shadow economy. MEPs also urge the Latvian government to do more to tackle structural problems within the job market, so to reduce poverty.
The resolution also mentions Latvia's financial sector and points out that the stability of Latvia's banks must be ensured, and that it is also important to increase the supervision of banks operating in the non-resident segment.
LETA also reported, during a European Council meeting on June 28, EU state and government leaders expressed support for Latvia's accession to the eurozone.
The EU leaders said they had discussed Latvia's application for eurozone membership, and congratulated Latvia on its economic, fiscal and financial progress, recognizing the implementation of Maastricht criteria.
The European Commission and European Central Bank published positive convergence reports on Latvia on June 5, confirming that the country met all the criteria to introduce the euro. Latvia's eurozone bid has received the EU top political authority's support.
EU finance ministers are expected make a final decision on Latvia's eurozone membership on July 9. If the decision is positive, Latvia will become the 18th member of the eurozone.
Latvia's goal is to introduce the euro on January 1, 2014.
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