Bank of Lithuania: Euro banknotes reach vaults

The first shipment of euro banknotes has successfully reached Lithuania, the Bank of Lithuania announced on Thursday.
"The euro were flown to Vilnius airport and successfully reached the vaults of the Bank of Lithuania," the central bank said in a statement.
Transportation of euros, which was accomplished on Wednesday afternoon, caused disturbances of traffic in the capital Vilnius.
"In transporting the banknotes, it is necessary to follow strict safety procedures and requirements, including flying the banknotes during daylight hours, limiting traffic while transporting them to the vaults and other security measures," the central bank explained in the statement.
"Due to security, the cash delivery time, route, security and other details cannot be disclosed to the public ahead of time," it added.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius apologized to Vilnius residents for inconveniences caused by euro delivery during Wednesday rush hour.
"Concerning the hours (of banknote delivery), this information is available to probably just three persons," Butkevicius said in an interview with local radio broadcaster Ziniu Radijas on Thursday.
There was no possibility to transport the banknotes at later hours, he said.
The Bank of Lithuania has signed an agreement with the German central bank, Bundesbank, regarding the acquisition of euro banknotes.
In seeking to ensure necessary stocks of currency during the euro adoption, 132 million euro banknotes in total will be brought in, their weight equals to 114 tonnes, the central bank said.
Lithuania will adopt euro on Jan 1, 2015.