Brussels, 06/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 1 January 2014, Latvia became the 18th member state to join the eurozone, following Estonia in 2011. The former currency, the lat, will remain in circulation for the first fortnight of 2014, at a fixed exchange rate of one euro to 0.702804 lat. After the first fortnight, the euro will be the country's only legal currency.
The European Commission says the switch has gone according to plan. Two-thirds of cash payments in shops were in euro on Saturday...