On Friday, 26 March, in Riga, the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly adopted a statement which says that introduction of the euro will provide greater stability for the Baltic States and improve prospects for sustainable growth. 

The statement also mentions that during the economic crisis, the Baltic States are doing everything possible to meet the Maastricht criteria and thus to prepare the national economy for introduction of the euro. 

Parliamentarians of the Baltic States express their support for Estonia’s efforts to introduce the euro in 2011 and voice the opinion that Estonia’s joining the eurozone will positively affect the economic situation in other Baltic States. 

The Baltic Assembly consists of national delegations from the Baltic States, i.e., from 12 to 20 members from each country’s parliament. It is an inter-parliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania which was founded on 8 November 1991 with the aim of coordinating cooperation between the Baltic States on a parliamentary level, discussing issues and projects common to all three countries in the region, as well as voicing a common position about political, economic, social and cultural issues on the European Union and international level. Between the BA sessions, decisions about topical issues can be adopted by the Presidium of the BA. 

The Presidium of the BA consists of two representatives from each BA member state. In 2010, the President of the BA is Ērika Zommere, a member of the Saeima. The Vice Presidents are Mantas Adomenas, a member of the Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) and Trivimi Velliste, a representative of the Estonian parliament (Riigikogu).

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E-mail: prese@saeima.lv