Lithuania joins the Euro

The eastern European nation of Lithuania has become the 19th country to join the European single currency - the euro. Many Lithuanians see this as part of their country's ever closer integration into Europe, more than twenty years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. It's also a landmark along the road of recovery from a severe downturn in 2009, when the economy shrank by an incredible 15 percent. Lithuania is now one of the fastest growing members of the EU. But not all is rosy. Its economy is still intertwined with its former ruler, Russia. International sanctions on Moscow are having an effect, and some worry joining the troubled euro may not be a great idea. The BBC's Vishala Sri-Pathma reports from the capital Vilnius.