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"On 5 December 2006, the Commission adopted the Convergence Report 2006, which re-assessed the conditions for adopting the euro in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. Such an assessment is required by the EC Treaty at least once every two years, or at the request of a Member State 'with a derogation', and has to be carried out by both the Commission and the European Central Bank. The ECB published its own report on the same day. This Convergence Report is the second "regular" report since the enlargement of the EU to 10 new Member States in May 2004. The first was adopted in October 2004, when none of the ten countries, nor Sweden, the other EU country 'with a derogation', met all the conditions, also known as the 'Maastricht criteria'. A specific convergence report, drawn up by the Commission in May 2006 in response to a request by Slovenia and Lithuania, concluded that Slovenia met all the conditions and could adopt the euro on 1 January 2007, while Lithuania retained its present status. The Council endorsed the Commission's assessments in July 2006. The 2006 Convergence Report shows that the nine countries assessed are making progress towards convergence, though at different paces. To be able to adopt the euro, a country must achieve a high degree of sustainable convergence regarding price stability, the budgetary position, exchange-rate stability and long-term interest rates, as well as ensuring that national legislation is compatible with the rules of the Treaty and the Statutes of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the ECB."--Provided by publisher.