Latvia to join the euro area on 1-Jan-2014

[Icosahedron]

Latvia to Contribute to Bailouts Upon 2014 Euro Entry, FAZ Says

Latvia plans to join the euro area in 2014 and is willing to pay its share in any future bailouts of indebted nations, central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.

"I believe that the latest measures in Italy, Spain and Ireland will be successful but even if new difficulties should arise, we are willing to make our contribution, even if it is relatively small," Rimsevics was quoted as saying. "It would be naive to think that a crisis in the euro area won't spread to neighboring countries."

It was a "big mistake" for Greece to delay adjustment measures, Rimsevics said. "Unfortunately, there is little hope" for the country as a result, he said, according to the newspaper.

Bloomberg, RT

Also, the Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg recently urged Latvia not to delay its goal of joining the eurozone in 2014

[Figleaf]

I believe him and I think they can do it, but two years is close to infinity for a politician and the mood of the population is probably more negative. If Estonia starts to make positive noises on its experience, I'll turn more positive on Latvia.

Peter

[Bimat]

Latvian euro coins will have national symbols on them

Nina Kolyako, BC, Riga, 15.05.2012.

Latvian euro coins will have national symbols on them, the business information portal Nozare.lv was informed by the euro project head Dace Kalsone.


After Latvia joins the euro-zone, the euro paper currency will be the same as elsewhere in Europe, and only coins will have Latvian symbols on them, writes LETA.

She emphasized that each euro-zone country is entitled to coins with their own designs, and that these coins can be used as legal tender in all euro-zone countries.

As reported, Kalsone took up the job of Latvia's euro introduction project manager on March 12. Before her appointment as the euro project's head, Kalsone was working as an analyst at the Bank of Latvia from 1997.

The euro introduction project includes five task forces, and the head of the project is the uniting element to coordinate implementation of the project.

Latvia's goal is to introduce the euro by January 1, 2014.

Source: Baltic Course

[chrisild]

No idea what will come out of this, of course. (Who knows what currency union Latvia could join in 2014.) But I wonder why the article, and thus your post, shows a coin design that was already ruled out quite a while ago. See http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,1793.0.html ...

Christian

[Figleaf]

Journalists and their usual precision.

I generally reject plot theories, but I can't help wondering about the why of this article also. Maybe Nina Kolyako got lucky and finally landed an interview with Dace Kalsone. Or maybe Dace Kalsone had a message for the world and used Nina Kolyako to send it. If it is the latter, the message is undoubtedly that Latvia still wants to introduce the euro and the question becomes why send that message now?

I can think of two reasons, not mutually exclusive. Maybe Latvia thinks it doesn't get enough attention in Frankfurt for its bid for membership in the euro club and they are afraid Frankfurt will become a bottleneck. Or maybe they think that at a time when a grave political accident is about to happen in Greece, they could be the perfect counterweight and they ought to get brownie points for that in the negotiations. Indeed, if Greece implodes on itself, the Latvia story would become a powerful signal: the problem is Greece, not the euro, stupid. That message would be helpful for other countries under siege from financial markets also.

I would give the Latvians their brownie points and amplify their message...

Peter

[chrisild]

The Latvian parliament has just approved, in the first reading, the Law on the Introduction of the Euro http://www.saeima.lv/en/news/saeima-news/20420-saeima-conceptually-supports-the-draft-law-on-the-introduction-of-the-euro (Parliament News, in English). The final reading is scheduled for the end of January.

Also, according to the "Numismática Visual" blog, the Baden-Württemberg mint won the contract to mint the Latvian euro coins http://www.numismatica-visual.es/2012/12/letonia-adjudica-la-acunacion-de-sus-euros-de-2014/ (NV, in Spanish). Total mintage would be 400 million coins. Also, 30,000 coins (sets?) in BU and 5,000 in proof are planned. However, I doubt that the mintmark "F" will appear on the coins ...

Christian

[Bimat]

...And Latvia has just issued first (Latvian) stamp denominated in Euro.

Aditya

[chrisild]

Does that one suggest that it is a rocky path where your bicycle gets damaged and your feet are amputated?

Today the Latvian parliament approved the euro introduction bill (52 Saeima members voted Yes, 40 No, 2 abstained). The official "application", and the ECB's and European Commission's convergence reports, should follow in spring ...

Christian

[chrisild]

Seems that the Latvian €2 coin will be second one, after the Dutch piece, that will have a religious motto. The €2 coin from the Netherlands says "God zij met ons" (God be with us) on the edge; the Latvian piece would say "Dievs svētī Latviju" (God bless Latvia). Those are the first three words of the Latvian national anthem.

Then again, Latvia may (as in: perhaps, who knows) not join the euro area after all. Cameron Rouses Latvia Euro Foes Ignored in Currency Push  Oh well, if they don't want to join, staying outside should not be all that difficult even if a country (see the Swedish example) basically meets the convergence criteria ...

Christian

[<k>]

Latvian euro coins

Source: Bank of Latvia

[chrisild]

Also see here: http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,1793.msg75904.html#msg75904 (replies #11 and #12) Must admit though that, in a case like this, it is difficult to keep the "euro adoption" and "euro designs" topics apart.

Christian

[chrisild]

According to Europolitics (22 Feb), "Latvia will apply formally in March to the European Commission for admission to the eurozone". The government plans to submit the application on 4 March. An EC monitoring team will then go to Riga and present the conclusions in May/early June. Then, in June/July, the ECB and the Council are expected to make their statements and decisions ...

Christian

[Bimat]

Bank of Latvia will issue the Latvian starter kits on December 10, 2013. A total of 8,00,000 kits will be issued and those coins will become legal tender on January 1, 2014.

Aditya

[chrisild]

Here is an article (in Latvian) about the kits ... with a photo of an Estonian bag. Ah well, as the decision whether Latvia will be "in" as from 1 January has not been made yet, they can hardly show a Latvian kit at this point.

As far as I know, the coins for the initial supply will be produced by the Baden-Württemberg mint (in Stuttgart and/or Karlsruhe). Latvia has used various European mints (for the lats coins) so far, and I assume they will continue to do that ...

Christian

[chrisild]

Seems that, as from next year, the euro area will have 18 member states. The decision is not final yet, but today the European Commission and the European Central Bank published their latest convergence reports. The EC "proposes that the Council decide on Latvia's adoption of the euro as from 1 January 2014."

EC press release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-500_en.htm
Commission concludes that Latvia is ready to adopt euro in 2014
Here is a Citizens Summary and a FAQ List regarding the report.

ECB press release: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2013/html/pr130605.en.html
ECB publishes its Convergence Report 2013 assessing the economic and legal convergence of Latvia
The full ECB Convergence Report 2013 is here (PDF).

The next steps (not necessarily in this order) are the Ecofin Council and the European Parliament, the finance ministers of the euro area, and a European Council meeting. Ultimately the Council of Ministers (Euro Area Member States and Latvia) will set the exchange rate, which is very likely to be very close to the current central ERM-II rate of 0.702804 ...

Christian