RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvia celebrated the new year as the
18th member of the eurozone, which for all its dents and bruises still
represents stability and security to the Baltic country’s leaders.
The
euro became Latvia’s official currency after midnight local time
Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday) as New Year’s rockets exploded in the skies
over the capital, Riga.
Acting Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis
withdrew the first euro note from a bank machine in a ceremony in Riga
after Latvian TV showed pre-recorded greetings from European leaders
welcoming his country to the eurozone.
"It’s a big opportunity for
Latvia’s economic development becoming a member of the world’s second
biggest currency," Dombrovskis said.
After joining NATO and the
European Union in 2004, entering the eurozone was seen as a natural step
for Latvia’s political leadership, deepening the Western integration
they have sought since Latvia and its Baltic neighbors, Estonia and
Lithuania, broke away from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
"Joining
the euro marks the completion of Latvia’s journey back to the political
and economic heart of our continent, and that is something for all of
us to celebrate," said Olli Rehn, the EU commissioner in charge of
economic and monetary affairs.
However, many Latvians are
skeptical about the euro. Opinion polls show about half opposed to the
currency switch, though support has risen somewhat this year.
Some are reluctant to give up Latvia’s own currency, the lat, a powerful symbol of independence.
There’s
also concern about the eurozone’s financial woes in recent years and
resentment toward the austerity measures imposed by the government
partly to fulfill the bloc’s stringent membership criteria.
Estonia
joined the eurozone in 2011 and Lithuania aims to become a member in
2015. That would complete the Baltic countries’ efforts to link up
economically, politically and militarily with the West while moving away
from Russia’s sphere of influence.
European leaders hailed
Latvia’s entry as a boost for the currency bloc, even though the
relatively poor country of only 2 million people is a tiny part of the
eurozone economy.
Some experts have expressed concern about
Latvia’s reputation as a haven for suspicious money from the East, just
nine months after the eurozone had to rescue Cyprus, a similarly tiny
member state that also specialized in attracting huge deposits from
Russia.
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AP writer Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.
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