Governor, Bank of Lithuania Reinoldijus Sarkinas of Lithuania

When asked by journalists to forecast potential results of the banking system for this year, Sarkinas expressed the opinion that this year bank profits should not increase at such rates as last year.

After the meeting with the chairman of the Seimas , Sarkinas said that Lithuania will be able to satisfy all the requirements of the European Monetary Union and join the euro zone several years earlier than planned.

Sarkinas said that special services were searching for the authors of the panic-spreading messages.

annual average inflation would stand at 7.

Sarkinas said inflation would be "affected by many factors", not least a commitment made by Lithuania when it joined the EU in 2004 to bring excise tax on tobacco products and petrol into line with the EU rate.