On Tuesday, 25 September, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and President of the Eurogroup, paid a visit to Eesti Pank, where he met with Mr Andres Lipstok, Governor of Eesti Pank, and Mr Rein Minka, Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank.

During the meeting held in Eesti Pank, Governor of Eesti Pank Mr Lipstok gave Mr Juncker a short overview of Estonia's current economic situation and the plans related to the introduction of the euro. Mr Lipstok and Mr Minka provided an account of the factors behind the country's rapid economic growth: successful economic reforms, the openness and flexibility of the economic environment, orientation of the economy towards western markets, and accession to the European Union, as well as the fixed exchange rate and strong fiscal policy.

"At the meeting we explained to the Prime Minister of Luxembourg that our main objective for the moment is to support a soft landing of the economy. I assured him that so far, economic cool-down has proceeded smoothly and has not brought along a decline in our long-term competitiveness. However, in order for Estonia to meet its long-range economic policy goals, it is imperative that we should adopt the euro as soon as possible," commented Mr Lipstok, adding that among other things, Estonia's successful participation in the exchange rate mechanism ERMII was also discussed. Estonia's participation in the ERMII is not just an obligation arising from the Treaty on European Union. It is also a framework contributing to the reliability of our economic policy," said Andres Lipstok.

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Ingrid Mitt
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