VIDEO: Dombrovskis Dismisses Euro Inflation Fears
Expecting to become the 18th Eurozone member in 2014, Latvia has satisfied the Maastricht criteria and is awaiting the results of an evaluation by the European Commission and European Central Bank in June, after which EU finance ministers will make the final decision.
Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, attending the Lennart Meri Conference this weekend, said support for joining the single currency, currently at 36 percent, is showing a growing trend, ETV reported.
One of the reasons for initially low support is the fear of inflation resulting from joining the euro.
Although economists expect that inflation in the country will rise significantly next year, Dombrovskis said only a minimal part of it can be attributed to the changeover. He pointed to research that found that the currency transition caused only a 0.3-0.5 percent inflation rise in Estonia and Slovakia when they joined the euro.
