Although Lithuania declares that its key goal is fiscal discipline, rather than the euro, Latvia seems to be doing better in maintaining fiscal discipline too, the paper wrote.
"Latvia has taken very drastic austerity measures, which are now bearing fruit. I doubt if the Lithuanian public would have been happy if there had been more severe austerity in place in Lithuania," it quoted Vilija Tauraitė, SEB Bankas' chief analyst, as saying.
Violeta Klyvienė, Danske Bank's senior analyst for the Baltic countries, said that Latvia and Lithuania have taken different initiatives in their euro entry efforts.
"Latvia is moving purposefully toward meeting the Maastricht criteria, whereas our strategy could be described as traveling where the wind carries us. Saying that we will join the euro when we meet the criteria is not a strategy, but rather the absence of a strategy," she said.
Even though joining the euro remains a strategic goal, an official entry target date has disappeared from all official documents, the analyst added.
