Darbas:
official membership application. In July 1997 the European Commission published an official opinion recommending to immediately start membership negotiations immediately with five associate Central and East European countries: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, whereas five other countries, including Lithuania and Latvia, were deemed not to be ready for accession negotiations.It was in 1999 when Lithuania was finally invited for accession negotiations, together with the other countries belonging to the so-called second group (Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria). On 15 February 2000, Lithuania started negotiations for the EU membership. 31 Chapters, ranging from Agriculture to Telecommunications, had to be dealt with individually. Membership negotiations were officially closed on the Copenhagen Summit in December 2002, and the Accession Treaty was signed by Prime Minister Brazauskas and Foreign Minister Valionis in Athens on
What the future holds:
Although being a full member of the EU, integration is not yet complete in all sectors: there are a number of transitional periods as, for example, in the field of free movement of citizens, the restriction to buy land for foreigners or the right to maintain lower excise rates for cigarettes (a full list of all transition periods can be found at www.euro.lt).Also, by becoming a member of the EU, Lithuania did not automatically become a member of the Euro zone or the Schengen space. In order to joint these two zones, Lithuania has to qualify separately by fulfilling a certain number of conditions (respecting the convergence criteria for the Euro and to prove its ability to protect the common external borders for Schengen). It is expected that Lithuania will introduce the Euro and become a member of the Schengen zone in 2007.
EURO
Europe is changing its currencies
As from January 1, 2002, 12 European countries gave up their national currency forever, and adopted a common currency: the euro.
The new euro banknotes and coins circulated alongside the respective national currencies during a changeover period, which varied slightly from country to country. On 1 March 2002, however, it became sole legal tender throughout the euro zone.
The following information is designed to give a basic understanding of the euro and the practical implications of the introduction of the notes and coins. Should you require further information please also see the
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