Standard & Poor's cited advantages early accession of the Baltic States to the euro.

Press konferentsiiKogda stop declining rating Rossii26.02.2009Na questions readers Lenty.Ru "answers Frank Gill, a leading analyst of Standard & Poor's on RossiiBystroe adoption of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the eurozone would improve their credit ratings on several levels. The statement was made by a leading analyst of the international rating agency Standard & Poor's (S & P) Frank Gill (Frank Gill), reported AFP. In doing so, according to Gill, the credit rating of the Baltic States could be improved and the announcement of the European Commission or the European Central Bank about the possibility of accelerating the adoption of these countries in the eurozone.
Now the process of joining the euro zone, took a few years. After filing, the State must obtain the permission of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Finance Ministers of Europe. Since then, the country is a two-year process of joining the euro, during which the rate of national currency, the state tightly tied to the euro. At the same time in the country, the applicant both currencies equal start walking.
After two years of the national currency ceases to circulate, and the state joins the euro zone. However, this requires also that the macroeconomic indicators of the country meet the standards specified in the Maastricht Treaty.
The possibility of reducing the two-year transition period was discussed at the summit of EU on 1 March 2009. It was to reduce the transition period at the time of financial crisis, but it does not soften the requirements for candidate countries. However a positive decision on the issue had not been taken yet - to fast-track accession to the euro the ECB stands. In discussing the question of early accession asked, in particular, Poland.
Let us recall that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are now in a transition period, the duration of which may be changed by a decision of the ECB or the European Commission, depending on the readiness of the economies of countries for accession to the euro. The exact date of accession of the Baltic States to the euro is not yet known, since they are hampered by too high a rate of inflation.
S & P downgraded Latvia's sovereign rating to "BB +" 24 February, 2009. On the same day, the ratings of Estonia, and Lithuania was demoted to the "A" and "BBB +" respectively. The reason for the revision of the ratings was strongly influenced by the global financial and economic crisis on their economies.
Euro was introduced in a non-cash circulation on 1 January 1999, when 11 of the 15 EU countries have decided on the formation of the euro. In the real treatment euro coins and banknotes were received on 1 January 2002. There are 16 members of the euro from the 27 EU states. The most recent to the area joined Slovakia, where the euro was introduced on 1 January 2009.