Lithuania has taken delivery of the final batch of euro banknotes in preparation for it becoming the 19th country to switch to the currency on January 1st 2015. <br /><br />They were flown in from Germany and whisked to the central bank’s vaults in the capital Vilnius under tight security, including snipers on rooftops to thwart any would-be thieves. <br /><br />Some 132 million banknotes weighing 114 tons are on loan from Germanys’ central bank until a special printing facility is set up in the country. <br /><br />Euro coins, which feature the national coat-of-arms, are being minted locally in Lithuania.<br /><br />The European Commission gave the go ahead for euro adoption as Lithuania met the Maastricht Treaty criteria.<br /><br />Lithuania’s previous bid to join the euro area in 2007 was rejected, because at that time the country’s inflation was just too high.<br /><br />More information here<br /><br />with LRT – Lithuanian public television
