Latvia is keen to strengthen ties with western Europe and reduce its dependency on Russia.
Officials said the eurozone had defied those who predicted it would collapse under the sovereign debt crisis.
It has had a financial crisis of its own at a time when it had a policy of fixing its exchange rate against the Euro. It chose to stick with that policy. Latvia did not seek to regain lost competitiveness by devaluing the currency, which many countries have done in past financial crises.
Instead, it followed the path of troubled countries such as Greece and Ireland already using the Euro and went for what's called "internal devaluation", restoring competitiveness through austerity.
Although not a Eurozone member, Latvia in effect accepted the constraints that membership would have imposed. It has been very painful.
Economic activity is recovering but it is even now 12% below its pre-crisis peak. Unemployment is also moving in the right direction but it remains high at 12.4%, despite significant emigration.
The country will start using the currency at the beginning of 2017 after meeting the criteria for membership, including low inflation and long-term interest rates, as well as low public debt.
EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Latvia's desire to adopt the euro was a sign of confidence in the single currency.
"Those who predicted a disintegration of the euro...were simply wrong," Rehn told a news conference.
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