Lithuania after the euro changeover : summary.
Date: 2015-03-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs
Subjects: European currency, Lithuania, currency convertibility, economic consequence, euro, euro area, monetary integration, prices policy, report, sample survey

Flash Eurobarometer 412 

LITHUANIA AFTER THE EURO CHANGEOVER 

SUMMARY 

Fieldwork:  

January 2015 

Publication: 

January 2015 

This survey has been requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Economic 
and Financial Affairs and co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication. 

This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. 
The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors. 

Flash Eurobarometer 412 - TNS Political & Social 

 
               
    
                                                 
                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Project title 

Flash EB 412 survey among 
the general public AFTER 
euro changeover in 
Lithuania – January 2015 
(Summary report) 

Linguistic Version 

EN 

Catalogue Number  KC-01-15-048-EN-N 

ISBN 

DOI 

978-92-79-45360-1 

10.2765/020117 

© European Union, 2015 

 
               
                                               
                                                 
                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 412 

Lithuania after the euro changeover 

Conducted by TNS Political & Social at the request of  
the European Commission,  
Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs 

Survey co-ordinated by the European Commission,  
Directorate-General for Communication 
(DG COMM "Strategy, Corporate Communication Actions and 
Eurobarometer" Unit) 

 
               
                                               
                                                 
                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 2 

I. 

SUPPORT FOR THE EURO ............................................................................ 3 

II.  THE LITHUANIAN CHANGEOVER: GENERAL ASSESSMENTS ......................... 4 

III.  PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE EURO ................................................. 5 

IV.  BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH EURO PRICING ............................................... 6 

V.  CONCERNS ABOUT THE CHANGEOVER......................................................... 9 

VI.  INFORMATION ABOUT THE EURO ............................................................. 10 

Annexes 
Technical specifications 

1 

 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

INTRODUCTION 

On 1 January 2015, Lithuania joined the euro area, becoming the 19th country within the 

28 EU Member States to adopt the euro as its currency. This report analyses the findings 

of a survey conducted among citizens of Latvia immediately after the introduction of the 

euro  within  the  country.  It  examines  their  attitudes  towards  the  new  currency  and  the 

changeover process.  

Most  of  the  results  of  this  survey  are  compared  with  those  from  the  last  six  countries 
that  joined  the  euro  area:  Latvia  on  1  January  20141,  Estonia  on  1  January  20112, 
Slovakia  on  1  January 20093,  Malta  and  Cyprus  on  1  January  20084,  and  Slovenia  on  1 
January  20075.  In  each  of  these  countries,  immediately  after  the  changeover,  the 
Directorate-General  for  Economic  and  Financial  Affairs  of  the  European  Commission 

conducted  a  Flash  Eurobarometer  survey  in  order  to  measure  citizens’  perceptions 

regarding  the  new  currency  and  its  implementation.  As  the  questionnaires  were 

essentially  the  same  and  the  data  collection  periods  similar  in  all  seven  surveys,  direct 

comparisons between the results can be made. Some questions are also compared with a 
survey that was conducted exclusively in Lithuania in September 2014.6 

This  survey  was  carried  out  by  the  TNS  Political  &  Social  network  in  Lithuania.  1,000 

respondents  from  different  social  and  demographic  groups  were  interviewed  via 

telephone (landline and mobile phone) in their mother tongue on behalf of the European 

Commission,  Directorate-General  for  Economic  and  Financial  Affairs.  The  methodology 

used  is  that  of  Eurobarometer  surveys  as  carried  out  by  the  Directorate-General  for 

Communication  (“Strategy,  Corporate  Communication  Actions  and  Eurobarometer” 
Unit)7.  A  technical  note  on  the  manner  in  which  interviews  were  conducted  by  the 
Institute within the TNS Political & Social network is appended as an annex to this report. 
Also included are the interview methods and confidence intervals8. 

Interviews  were  conducted  in  Lithuania  between  the  16th  and  19th  January  2015. 
Interviews conducted in the other six countries used in analyses took place as follows: in 
Latvia between 15th and 18th January 2014; in Estonia between the 16th and 20th January 
2011; in Slovakia between the 16th and 20th January 2009; in Malta and Cyprus between 
the  2nd  and  6th  February  2008;  and  in  Slovenia  between  the  29th  January  and  3rd 
February  2007.  In  each  country,  approximately  1,000  interviews  were  conducted.  The 

national samples were representative of the population aged 15 or over.  

We wish to thank all the people interviewed who took the time to participate                 

in this survey. Without their active participation, this survey would not have been 

*      *      *      *      * 

possible. 

1 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_393_en.pdf 
2 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_309_en.pdf 
3 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_259_en.pdf  
4 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_222_223_en.pdf 
5 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_205_en.pdf  
6 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_402_en.pdf 
7 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm 

2 

 
                                                           
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

I.  SUPPORT FOR THE EURO 

Following  the  adoption of  the  euro  on  January  1,  there  was  a  substantial  increase  in 

the  proportion  of  people  who  say  that  introducing  the  euro  will  have  positive 

consequences  for  Lithuania.  Nearly  two-thirds  of  respondents  (63%)  now  feel  this 

way, up from 44% in September 2014, and 35% in April 2013.  

Only  a  fifth  of  people  (20%)  say  that  the  euro  will  have  negative  consequences  for 

Lithuania, whereas in the past a majority of respondents said the consequences would be 

negative,  such  as  in  September  2014  (48%  negative  vs.  44%  positive),  and  April  2013 

(55% negative vs. 35% positive).  

The  pattern  is  very  similar  when  it  comes  to  people’s  personal  expectations  of 

the euro’s introduction, with a large increase in the proportion of people who think the 

consequences will be positive following the currency’s adoption. Over half of respondents 

(54%) now say that the consequences will be positive, up from 37% in September 2014, 

and 33% in April 2013.  

3 

 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

II.  THE LITHUANIAN CHANGEOVER: GENERAL ASSESSMENTS 

Respondents were asked how smoothly and efficiently they felt the changeover 

to the euro had happened overall. Nearly nine out of ten respondents (86%) say that 

the changeover was  smooth and efficient, with over a quarter (27%)  saying that it was 

very  smooth  and  efficient.  Less  than  a  tenth  of  respondents  (8%)  feel  that  the 

changeover was not smooth and efficient, or not at all implemented correctly. 

Very  few  respondents  in  Lithuania  (5%)  say  that  they  experienced  any 

problems  when  exchanging  Lithuanian  litas  or  withdrawing  euro  cash  from 

banks in the first week of January. Over nine out of ten people (91%) say that they 

had no problems doing these things immediately after the changeover.  

Lithuania compares with other euro area countries in terms of the problems experienced 

exchanging or withdrawing money shortly after the changeover to the euro. Only people 

in  Slovenia  (96%)  and  Estonia  (95%)  experienced  fewer  problems  than  people  in 

Lithuania whereas respondents in Malta (85%) were the least likely. 

4 

 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

III.  PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE EURO 

Respondents  were  asked  how  easy  or  difficult  it  was  to  distinguish  and  to 

manipulate euro coins. A majority of people in Lithuania (54%) think that it was easy 

to distinguish and manipulate euro coins, with just under a fifth (19%) saying it was very 

easy to do so. Nearly a third of respondents (32%) say they found euro coins difficult to 

deal with. 

These results show that respondents in Lithuania found the experience of handling euro 

coins  more  problematic  than  people  in  most  other  countries.  Estonia  (48%)  is  the  only 

country  where  a  smaller  proportion  of  respondents  said  that  it  was  easy  to  distinguish 

and  manipulate  euro  coins.  Elsewhere,  a  much  higher  proportion  of  respondents  said 

they found it easy, such as in Cyprus (81%) and Malta (75%).  

As  seen  previously 

in  other  countries,  respondents 

in  Lithuania  found 

banknotes easier to distinguish and manipulate than coins. Over three quarters of 

people (77%) say they found this easy, with a third (33%) saying it was very easy. Less 

than a tenth of respondents (9%) think that euro banknotes are not easy to deal with.  

5 

 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

IV.  BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH EURO PRICING 

Following  the  changeover,  respondents  were  asked  whether  they  now  use  the  euro,  or 

still use the old litas to make mental calculations when it comes to making both common 

everyday purchases, and also exceptional purchases.  

Nearly four out of ten respondents (39%) in Lithuania most often use the euro 

to  count  or  make  calculations  when  making  common  purchases  such  as  day-to-

day shopping whereas a third say they still use the Lithuania litas (35%). Over a fifth of 

people (22%) say they use the euro to make these mental calculations as often as they 

use the litas.  

As  was  the  case  in  other  countries,  fewer  respondents  in  Lithuania  make  their 

calculations  only  in  euros  when  it  comes  to  making  exceptional  purchases:  a 

quarter  of  people  (25%)  say  they  do  this,  but  a  higher  proportion  (38%)  make  their 

calculations for exceptional purchases in Lithuanian litas. A fifth of people (20%) say they 

use the euro to count or make calculations for this type of purchase as often as they use 

the litas. 

6 

 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

Respondents  were  asked  how  easy  or  difficult  they  found  it  to  convert 

Lithuanian  litas  into  euro.  Three  quarters  of  respondents  (75%)  say  that  this  was 

easy,  with  around  a  quarter  (24%)  finding  it  very  easy.  Only  15%  of  respondents  say 

that they found it difficult to convert litas into euro.  

On this question Lithuania sits in the middle of the range of other euro area countries. In 

some  countries,  notably  Cyprus  (83%)  and  Slovenia  (79%),  a  higher  proportion  of 

people  said  they  found  the  currency  conversion  easy.  But  in  Estonia  (62%)  and  Latvia 

(68%), for example, a comparatively small proportion of respondents said this.   

Following this question, respondents were asked how easy or difficult it was for 

them to understand the value of something priced in euros. In line with the earlier 

findings,  seven  out  of  ten  respondents  (70%)  say  that  it  was  easy  to  understand  the 

value  of  something  in  euros,  with  around  a  fifth  (21%)  saying  that  they  find  this  very 

easy.  However,  a  fifth  of  respondents  (20%)  think  that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  the 

value of things in euros.  

Again,  Lithuania  is  in  the  middle  of  the  range  when  comparing  the  results  from  other 

euro  area  countries.  At  one  extreme  82%  of  people  in  Cyprus  said  that  it  was  easy  to 

understand  the  value  of  things  priced  in  euros,  and  at  the  other,  only  58%  of 

respondents in Estonia said this.  

7 

 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

Over two-thirds of people in Lithuania (67%) say they find the dual displays of 

prices useful, with 30% finding it very useful. Three out of ten respondents (30%) 

do not find dual pricing useful, and of these 20% say that it is not useful at all.  

Respondents  were  asked  if  they  have  the  impression  that  the  dual  displays  of 

prices  were  implemented  correctly.  Over  three  quarters  of  people  (77%)  have  the 

impression  that  they  were  implemented  correctly  or  mostly  correctly,  with  over  half 

(51%)  saying  that  they  were  implemented  correctly.  Just  15%  of  respondents  feel  that 

they were not implemented correctly. But while a substantial majority of people think the 

dual displays of prices were implemented correctly or mostly correctly, Lithuania has the 

lowest proportion of respondents who take this view.  

8 

 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

V.  CONCERNS ABOUT THE CHANGEOVER 

Nearly  half  of  the  respondents  (47%)  say  that  price  conversion  was  correct 

either often of very often, with 14% saying it was correct very often, and 33% often.  

A  slightly  smaller  proportion  of  respondents  (40%)  think  that  the  rounding  of 

prices  was  correct  either  often  or  very  often,  with  12%  saying  it  was  correct  very 

often, and 28% often. 

However, when asked about the impact respondents think the euro will have on 

the  national  economy,  a  majority  of  people  (58%)  think  that  the  euro  will 

increase  inflation,  while  just  over  a  quarter  (26%)  believe  that  the  euro  will  help 

maintain  price  stability.  These  results  are  broadly  in  line  with  those  recorded  in  other 

countries just after the changeover. 

9 

 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

VI. 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE EURO 

A  substantial  majority  of  people  in  Lithuania  (92%)  feel  informed  about  the 

euro,  with  34%  of  these  saying  they  feel  very  well  informed.  Just  6%  do  not  feel  well 

informed.  This  result  also  continues  an  ongoing  positive  trend  in  Lithuania  since  April 

2013, when only around four in ten respondents felt informed about the euro (41%). 

This result is very typical of that seen in other Member States following the changeover, 

where the proportion of respondents who felt informed about the euro ranged from 92% 

in both Cyprus and Slovenia to 87% in Estonia.  

Respondents  were  asked  where  they  obtained 

information  about  the 

introduction  of  the  euro,  and  were  given  a  list  of  nine likely  sources.  By  far  the 

most  common  source  of  information  for  people  in  Lithuania  was  the  media,  with  nearly 

nine  out  of  ten  respondents  (86%)  saying  they  got  their  information  in  this  way. 

Relatively  few  people  relied  on  other  sources  of  information,  though  roughly  a  tenth  of 

respondents  say  they  got  information  about  the  changeover  from  commercial  banks 

(13%) or from the National Central Bank (8%).  

When asked about their perceptions of the information provided by the national 

authorities, nearly nine out of ten people (86%) feel satisfied, although only 17% 

of those say that they were very satisfied. Comparing these results with those from the 

other six countries, respondents in Lithuania can be seen to have a similar overall level of 

satisfaction on this issue. In the other six Member States, the proportion of respondents 

expressing  satisfaction  with  the  information  the  national  authorities  provided  ranged 

from 91% in Malta to 80% in Latvia.  

10 

 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                          “Lithuania after the euro changeover” 

Finally, respondents were asked to identify the most important issues about the 

euro  that  they  would  like  to  have  more  information  on.  Respondents  were  most 

likely  to  say  they  wanted  more  information  about  the  euro’s  security  features:  nearly  a 

quarter of people (24%) mentioned this.  

Over  a  tenth  of  respondents  say  they  would  like  more  information  about  the  social, 

economic  or  political  implications  of  the  euro  (12%),  the  dual  display  of  prices  (11%), 

and correct rounding (10%). A quarter of people (25%) spontaneously say that there are 

no issues relating to the euro that they want more information on. 

11 

 
 
 
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412 
“Lithuania after the changeover” 
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 

Between  the  16th  and  the  19th  of  January  2015,  TNS  political  &  social,  a  consortium created between TNS UK 
and TNS opinion, carried out the survey FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412, ‘Lithuania after the changeover’. 

This survey has been requested by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial 
Affairs.  It  is  a  general  public  survey  co-ordinated  by  the  Directorate-General  for  Communication  ('Strategy, 
Corporate  Communication  Actions  and  Eurobarometer'  Unit).The  FLASH  EUROBAROMETER  412  covers  the 
national population of citizens as well as the population of citizens of all the European Union Member States that 
are resident in Lithuania and have a sufficient command of the national languages to answer the questionnaire. All 
interviews were carried using the TNS e-Call center (our centralized CATI system). Respondents were called both 
on  fixed  lines  and  mobile  phones.  The  basic sample design applied is multi-stage random (probability). In each 
household, the respondent was drawn at random following the "last birthday rule". 

TNS  have  developed  their  own  RDD  sample  generation  capabilities  based  on  using  contact  telephone  numbers 
from responders to random probability or random location face to face surveys, such as Eurobarometer, as seed 
numbers.  The  approach  works  because  the  seed  number  identifies  a  working  block  of  telephone  numbers  and 
reduces  the  volume  of  numbers  generated  that  will  be  ineffective.  The  seed  numbers  are  stratified  by  NUTS2 
region  and  urbanisation  to  approximate  a  geographically  representative  sample.  From  each  seed  number  the 
required sample of numbers are generated by randomly replacing the last two digits. The sample is then screened 
against  business  databases  in  order  to  exclude  as  many  of  these  numbers  as  possible  before  going  into  field."

TS1 

FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                                “Lithuania after the changeover”    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Readers  are  reminded  that  survey  results are  estimations, the accuracy of which, everything being equal, rests 
upon  the  sample  size  and  upon  the  observed  percentage.    With  samples  of  about  1,000  interviews,  the  real 
percentages vary within the following confidence limits: 

ABBR. 

COUNTRIES 

INSTITUTES 

N°  
INTERVIEWS 

FIELDWORK 
DATES 

POPULATION 
15+ 

LT 

Lithuania 

TNS LT 

1.000 

16/01/2015 

19/01/2015 

2.829.740 

TS2 

FLASH EUROBAROMETER 412                                                “Lithuania after the changeover”   various sample sizes are in rowsvarious observed results are in columns5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%95%90%85%80%75%70%65%60%55%50%N=506,08,39,911,112,012,713,213,613,813,9N=50N=5001,92,63,13,53,84,04,24,34,44,4N=500N=10001,41,92,22,52,72,83,03,03,13,1N=1000N=15001,11,51,82,02,22,32,42,52,52,5N=1500N=20001,01,31,61,81,92,02,12,12,22,2N=2000N=30000,81,11,31,41,51,61,71,81,81,8N=3000N=40000,70,91,11,21,31,41,51,51,51,5N=4000N=50000,60,81,01,11,21,31,31,41,41,4N=5000N=60000,60,80,91,01,11,21,21,21,31,3N=6000N=70000,50,70,80,91,01,11,11,11,21,2N=7000N=75000,50,70,80,91,01,01,11,11,11,1N=7500N=80000,50,70,80,90,91,01,01,11,11,1N=8000N=90000,50,60,70,80,90,91,01,01,01,0N=9000N=100000,40,60,70,80,80,90,91,01,01,0N=10000N=110000,40,60,70,70,80,90,90,90,90,9N=11000N=120000,40,50,60,70,80,80,90,90,90,9N=12000N=130000,40,50,60,70,70,80,80,80,90,9N=13000N=140000,40,50,60,70,70,80,80,80,80,8N=14000N=150000,30,50,60,60,70,70,80,80,80,8N=150005%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%95%90%85%80%75%70%65%60%55%50%Statistical Margins due to the sampling process(at the 95% level of confidence)