
Published: 20241216
During a meeting with the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, held in the Dr Pranas Kiznis Gallery, the distinguished guest expressed admiration for the museum’s elegant historical setting and impressive exhibits.
Later, Ms Lagarde spoke about the strengths of the common European currency: "Being part of the eurozone has increased the prosperity of the Lithuanian people," noted the ECB President. However, she also highlighted the high inflation in A prestigious event—the Bank of Lithuania’s conference marking the tenth anniversary of the euro's introduction in Lithuania (adopted on 1 January 2015)—was held at the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. One of the first to congratulate Lithuania on this occasion was the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde. Speaking at the conference, she addressed the audience in Lithuanian: *"Laisvė, vienybė, gerovė!" ("Freedom, unity, prosperity!").According to Ms Lagarde, these are Lithuania's core values. "These three words reflect the spirit of the Lithuanian nation," she added.
Europe in recent years, particularly in Lithuania, where it peaked at 22.5% in September 2022. In response, the ECB raised interest rates, though six months ago, it began lowering them again.
The conference also brought together representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other European institutions. Among the attendees were Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) responsible for economic affairs, Rimantas Šadžius, Minister of Finance of Lithuania, and Gediminas Šimkus, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.