not really in the mood for the euro either. however, information campaigns and the reality of the new currency resulted in growing support – a trend that we are already observing in lithuania. according to the latest survey data, support for the single currency increased by 18 percentage points from late last year to mid - 2014 in lithuania. in latvia, it even increased by 30 percentage points ( to 68 % ) over the same period. 1 and, even though public support for the european project as such has been on the decline across member states during the crisis, if anything, citizens in euro area countries have persistently demonstrated solid support for the common currency. in essence, those that are sceptical about the new currency have two concerns : first, they are worried that the changeover might lead to price increases ; second, they are afraid that their country might lose part of its identity. compared with other eu member states that are not yet part of the euro area, these concerns are especially high in lithuania. three - quarters of survey respondents in lithuania believe that introducing the euro will lead to increased prices. 2 i am confident we can demonstrate that such worries are unwarranted. first, the ecb will be the competent http : / / ec. europa. eu / public _ opinion / archives / eb / eb81 / eb81 _ en. htm. http : / / ec. europa. eu / public _ opinion / flash / fl _ 400 _ en. pdf. bis central bankers ’ speeches monetary policy authority once lithuania is part of the euro area. and i can assure you that we take our price stability mandate very seriously and will continue to do so. second, the lithuanian authorities can draw on the experience from 18 previous euro changeovers in designing measures to prevent unjustified price increases. i trust they will make sure that the new banknotes and coins will have the same purchasing power as the litas. what about the other main concern, a loss of national identity? designed by antanas zukauskas, the new coins resemble the litas coins, showing vytis ( “ the chaser ” ), which is an adaption of the country ’ s coat of arms. but lithuania will not just bring a national symbol to the euro area. in joining the euro area, lithuania will effectively re - gain part of the sovereignty it gave up earlier. lithuania ’ s minister for finance, rimantas sadzius, allegedly said,

mario draghi : keynote speech at the euro conference – lithuania keynote speech by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, at the euro conference – lithuania, vilnius, 25 september 2014. * * * summary the euro area benefits from lithuania ’ s accession in at least two ways : first, lithuania has shown that adjustment is not only necessary, but also possible – even without currency devaluation ; second, lithuania ’ s decision to join the euro area demonstrates that our common currency is attractive. lithuania itself will – amongst others – benefit from having a say in the monetary policymaking of the world ’ s second largest economy. initial scepticism among some lithuanians regarding the introduction of the euro is already transforming into increasing support now that people become more informed about their new currency and the changeover modalities. joining the euro area does not only follow from economic considerations : it is a binding commitment to european values. * * * dear prime minister butkevicius, dear vice president katainen, dear finance minister sadzius, dear chairman vasiliauskas, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, you might be aware of the timer above the door of lietuvos bankas, lithuania ’ s central bank, which is counting down to the euro changeover – less than 100 days [ 98 days ] remain until lithuania adopts the euro. lietuvos bankas installed the countdown clock two months ago, when the council of the european union gave the green light for the adoption of the euro, but i am sure that many of us have been anticipating this day for much longer. and we have probably asked ourselves : what does lithuania ’ s accession mean for the euro area and what does the euro changeover mean for lithuania? in my remarks today i will elaborate on both of these aspects. how does the euro area benefit from lithuania ’ s membership? with lithuania introducing the euro, all three baltic countries will soon be part of the currency union. this is a great asset for the euro area, not least because it demonstrates the euro area ’ s attractiveness. not that long ago the baltic countries were in the midst of a deep recession. in 2009 lithuania ’ s gdp declined by roughly 15 %. today, lithuania is one of the fastest growing countries in europe. last year its gdp grew by 3. 3 %, whereas the euro area ’ s gdp shrank by 0. 4 %. quite remarkably, lithuania managed to reboot its economy without any external