Baltic states aim to be first in queue for euro

The three Baltic states aim to be first among the EU accession countries to join the euro, eyeing entry in 2007, officials said in London on Sunday.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania already meet most of the Maastricht entry criteria, but have to link their currencies to the ERM2 (exchange rate mechanism) for two years before they can join the euro.
"We aim to be in EMU (European economic and monetary union) by 2007. It's a bit easier for us because the currency is already pegged to the euro," Nerijus Eidukevicius, Lithuania's deputy minister for the economy, said at a presentation at the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
"We are expecting to join in 2007. Our currency has been fixed to the euro since 2001 and we already meet all the entry criteria," said Andrus Viirg, Director of Estonia's Foreign Investments and Trade Service.