| Abstract [eng] |
Lithuania attempted to join the Euro zone in 2007 but it did not succeed since it did not correspond to the criterion of price stability. What were the reasons that Lithuania did not accept the Euro in 2007? What should Lithuania do seeking membership in the European Economic and Monetary Union (further – EMU)? In the work, analyzing Lithuania in 1998 – 2007, the stability of its economic convergence has been researched in detail. The economics of Lithuania is surveyed evaluating not only the data of the past but also the future prospects. The special attention is focused on the fact that the favorable development of economics essentially depends on proper and permanent means of economic policy which are used solving present and future problems. That is why, in order to make the economic convergence stable, not only the good beginning but also the further economic policy after the acceptance of the Euro is necessary. The first part of the work analyzes theoretical aspects of the economic convergence and the integration of countries into EMU: the significance of the conception of the convergence, peculiarities of Maastricht criteria, the establishment of EMU, the importance of the integration of countries into EMU and the significance of the Euro, as an international means of payment, to the convergence. The second part of the work thoroughly evaluates the economic convergence of Lithuania according to the fixed criteria (of inflation, long-term interest rates, exchange rates’ fluctuations, budget deficit and national debt) and their results are compared to other countries of EU. Besides, the prospects of Lithuania seeking to accept the Euro and the interdependence of the main macroeconomic rates are evaluated in this work. The third part of the work summarizes the rising problems as Lithuania is integrating into EMU as well as it foresees various means (proper, improper ones) of the inflation reduction. |
