The Council of the European Union recently agreed to allow Latvia adopt the euro as its currency as of 1 January 2014. This decision will extend the euro area to 18 member states, and gives Latvia almost six months to prepare for the changeover. The Council also adopted regulations setting a permanent conversion rate for the Latvian lats against the euro, and adapting certain technical provisions on the euro.

Euro notes and coins will be issued in Latvia on 1 January 2014 at a conversion rate set at 0.702804 Latvian lats to one euro.

Seventeen of the 28 member states of the EU currently have the euro as their currency. Euro banknotes and coins were introduced:

• on 1 January 2002 in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy,
• Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria and Finland;
• on 1 January 2007 in Slovenia;
• on 1 January 2008 in Cyprus and Malta;
• on 1 January 2009 in Slovakia; and
• on 1 January 2011 in Estonia.