Latvia Approved to Become 18th Eurozone Member

European Union(EU) finance minsters have approved Latvia's application to become the 18th country to use the euro

The application for membership had earlier been approved by the European Commission and European Central Bank.(Latvia made the application in March 2013)

The exchange rate has been set at 0.702804 lats to one euro, and euro notes and coins will be issued in Latvia on January 1, 2014.

Note
Latvia met the 5 requirements needed to gain entry into the eurozone -

•  Levels of Debt

•  Deficit

•  Inflation

•  Long-term Interest Rates and

•  Stable Peg to the Euro(Latvia's currency, the lat, has been pegged to the euro since 2005)