More euros than litas now in circulation in Lithuania

Vitas Vasiliauskas, governor of the Bank of Lithuania, announced that on Friday Lithuania's cash circulation in the euro was for the first time higher than that in the litas.

Vasiliauskas says at the moment there are about 2.5 billion euros in cash, while the litas in circulation still account for around 49 percent of all cash.

"Today is the day when we saw the turning point in circulation. I am very glad that this happened a day earlier than it did in Latvia and Estonia," he said.

According to Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius, the euro adoption process in Lithuania is going smoothly.

He says that all institutions, including the commercial ones, are operating smoothly, and that the changeover process is continuing without any major problems; the European Commission has confirmed that the adoption process is being carried out according to best practice.