Estonia joins €uro

[Eldritch]

Estonian prime minister Andrus Ansip and the country's first euro note:

http://kuvat.uusisuomi.fi/sites/default/files/imagecache/artikkeli/kuvat/viroeuro.jpg


The Financial Times seems cautiously optimistic:


Estonia joined the euro zone as its newest member on Saturday, but the currency club’s deepening crisis is likely to put off bigger eastern European entrants from joining for up to a decade.

The small Baltic state of 1.3 million became the 17th euro zone country at midnight, beginning a switch from the kroon, and was the first former Soviet state to adopt the euro.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was the first to take euros out of a specially installed cash machine outside a theatre where a ball had been held to celebrate the switchover and the new year.

“It is a small step for the euro zone and a big step for Estonia,” he said, holding the notes.

“We are proud to be a euro zone member state.”

Estonia sees changing to the euro as marking the end of its struggles since a 2009 recession lopped 14 percent off its output. It hopes to entice investors by removing any fears of devaluation and make borrowing more secure for its people, many of whose mortgages are already in euros.

It also caps a drive for integration with the West, away from the influence of Russia, that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

With a similar history, neighbours Latvia and Lithuania hope to adopt the euro in 2014 and have also had their currencies pegged to the euro for years.

The kroon will be converted at the rate of 15.6466 at which the currency was pegged to the euro. They will circulate together as legal tender for two weeks.

An anti-euro campaign kept up its rhetoric, saying in a statement Estonia was “getting the last ticket for the Titanic”.

Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman said in a blog (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/congratulations-to-estonia-or-maybe-condolences/) that the switch was a symbol of Estonia’s transformation from a Soviet province to a good European citizen, but that the cost had been high for the economy.

“So, congratulations to Estonia -- but condolences too. This wasn’t the glittering euro entrance you were promised,” he wrote.



While here is what I would consider the more bluntly realistic view:


Estonia Becomes The Last Passenger On The Titanic

2011 is set to arrive in a few hours.

With its arrival, Estonia will join the EU currency regime as the last of 17 nations approved to use the Euro. They may be the proverbial last passenger up the gang plank to board the Titanic.

This is a major deal for the nation, as Estonia only left the ruble in 1992. It quickly fixed its own currency to the German mark at the time. Estonia with a population of 1.3 million people is tied to Europe in more ways than one. They have two choices and only one of them is acceptable to the citizens.

Once the Euro came into existence in 1999, Estonia fixed its currency to the Euro. So, while it is the last of 17 nations to officially join the currency, it has been a defacto member for years. Estonia needs to be European more than Europe needs a new client for the Euro currency.

The irony is that while Estonia is formally joining the EU, one of potentially four nations now is seriously considering leaving the EU and reissuing their own currency.

Since May there have been rumors from Berlin that Germany is prepared for a world without the Euro as their principle currency. Those rumors were officially denied in November. Reality is a rumor publicly denied is no longer a rumor.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/estonia-the-last-passenger-on-the-titanic-2010-12#ixzz19nD7oBGI

[Loki]

What a sad day for Estonia ... :(

[Loki]

What a sad day for Estonia ... :(

Estonia has just recently gained independence from the USSR ... and doesn't seem to like it very much, since it has in effect just given it away yet! Oh well, I guess independence is not for everyone.

[Breedingvariety]

I liken Estonia with Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Breedingvariety]

Titanic was an inside job!

[Äike]

One of the advantages of being a member of a political party is that you can meet people like Jürgen Ligi and other prominent individuals and have (long) discussions with them.

Now to the point, the eurozone will still be completely functional in 2015, Germany will also not leave the eurozone. If anyone will leave(the chances are extremely slim) the eurozone then it will be Greece or Ireland.

The main prediction is that the eurozone will remain completely intact and functional, but after Estonia, no new countries will join the eurozone for a considerable time period.

I like kroons more than the euros. But I am a realist, not paranoid. Thus I am very certain that the eurozone will remain functional. I'm so certain, that I could bet both of you(Eldritch and Loki) 100 euros(or 100 US dollars if the paranoia is too big), that the eurozone is still functional in 2015. 100dollars/euros is just money, but the looks on your faces will probably be priceless. ;)

[Germanicus]

What a sad day for Estonia ... :(


“getting the last ticket for the Titanic”. Seems appropriate. :(

[Breedingvariety]

100 euros(or 100 US dollars if the paranoia is too big).
Why jump out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Betty Sue sure did jump from the frying pan to the fire when she left Roy, her cheatin' husband for his brother Chet, the town drunk.

Bob's out of the frying pan and into the fire after robbing the bank while videotaping it!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=out%20of%20the%20frying%20pan%20an d%20into%20the%20fire

[Äike]

Why jump out of the frying pan and into the fire?


http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=out%20of%20the%20frying%20pan%20an d%20into%20the%20fire

Estonia had to join the eurozone. If we wouldn't have joined, then we could be sued, but I doubt that such extreme measures would have been taken. We "agreed" with joining the eurozone in 2004.


Estonia to strengthen the euro area (http://blogs.euobserver.com/mujagic/2010/12/28/estonia-to-strengthen-the-euro-area/)

...P.S. If you wonder why any country would want to join the euro area in the first place: according to the Treaty on the European Union, ALL member states of the European Union (bar United Kingdom and Denmark) MUST join the euro area as soon as they fulfill the criteria that have been set (on inflation rate, long term interest rates, economic convergence, debt and budget balance).

[Foxy]

Welcome on board! Since today we should be connational :confused:

[Loki]

I like kroons more than the euros. But I am a realist, not paranoid. Thus I am very certain that the eurozone will remain functional. I'm so certain, that I could bet both of you(Eldritch and Loki) 100 euros(or 100 US dollars if the paranoia is too big), that the eurozone is still functional in 2015. 100dollars/euros is just money, but the looks on your faces will probably be priceless. ;)

Oh it might be functional. But it doesn't mean Estonia will particularly benefit from it. Loss of your fiscal independence is one thing. Welcome to the EUSSR!! :thumb001:

[Äike]

Welcome to the EUSSR!! :thumb001:

My relatives aren't driven out of their homes and hoarded up to be placed on animal wagons, which would transport them to Siberia.

Thus I'm certainly not a citizen of something similar to the USSR.

[Loki]

This is a different kind of slavery, my Nordic friend. :) One that will corrupt the very core of your ethnic group and eventually cause it to lose its identity - something the Soviets have never done.
My relatives aren't driven out of their homes and hoarded up to be placed on animal wagons, which would transport them to Siberia.

Thus I'm certainly not a citizen of something similar to the USSR.

[Äike]

This is a different kind of slavery, my Nordic friend. :) One that will corrupt the very core of your ethnic group and eventually cause it to lose its identity - something the Soviets have never done.

I doubt that cultural Marxism will be so successful here as it is in countries like the United Kingdom. The government of Estonia and the leading parties of Estonia are actually quite nationalistic. I even posted an article (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showpost.php?p=290838&postcount=1) some time ago. There will be no right-wing extremists here because the mainstream parties are already nationalistic and pro-Estonian. ;)

[Peasant]

More like your country will start pulling out all the stops for the immigrants when reports like these (http://www.efms.uni-bamberg.de/pubrax_e.htm) put them in a 'bad light'.

[Loki]

Indeed. Expect complaints about that from Brussels in the near future. ;)
I doubt that cultural Marxism will be so successful here as it is in countries like the United Kingdom. The government of Estonia and the leading parties of Estonia are actually quite nationalistic. I even posted an article (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showpost.php?p=290838&postcount=1) some time ago. There will be no right-wing extremists here because the mainstream parties are already nationalistic and pro-Estonian. ;)

[Äike]

More like your country will start pulling out all the stops for the immigrants when reports like these (http://www.efms.uni-bamberg.de/pubrax_e.htm) put them in a bad light.

Estonia has strict immigration policies. The only way that 3rd world immigrants could get to Estonia is this, a Somali goes to Denmark and gets Danish citizenship. Thus as a citizen of the EU, he can move to Estonia and work here. Direct immigration to Estonia is currently rather hard for 3rd world immigrants. They wouldn't want to come here either, because Estonia doesn't give out money for not working, like other countries do. There is a social welfare system, but it obeys the laws of logic and a person finally has to find a job if he doesn't want to become poor.

[Nglund]

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_GlNfmqQ9eYs/SZ_bfRHA4jI/AAAAAAAABK8/YrMQdEi3Vtg/pepsi_vs_coca2.jpg

[Breedingvariety]

Guess which major currency depreciated the most last year. Yes, euro.

[Äike]

Guess which major currency depreciated the most last year. Yes, euro.

The kroon was pegged to the euro with an exchange rate of 15.6466. Thus if one euro would have been worth 0.00000000000000000000000000001 dollars, then the Estonian kroon would also have been worthless.

The Estonian kroon depreciated last year as much as the euro. So did your Lithuanian currency, as it is also tied to the euro. ;)

[Wyn]

Given that EU law has supremacy over national laws, every member state surrenders sovereignty upon entering the Union anyway. Actually using the designated currency of this union reduces a state to full-blown serfdom and being at the very beck-and-call of a foreign power (I could make a good few jokes about Estonians and Estonian history here, I'll leave it to somebody else).

[Inese]

The government of Estonia and the leading parties of Estonia are actually quite nationalistic.
lol you are really naive Karl :rolleyes2: Yes of course your politicians are soooooo nationalistic that they enter the Euro money zone and give up national sovereignity ---- EU law is superior to national law, you know that?!! And your country dont has a say on the money, it is only 1 of 17 Euro countries and your country is one of the smallest.

And you must be total joking when you say that Estonia can help to solve the Euro financial crisis!! :rolleyes: Estonian economy makes 0,2% of the economy of the EU! 0,2%!! ZERO KOMMA TWO! :embarrassed Your country HAS NO INFLUENCE!! Latvia has no influence too!! I tell you, our countries are absolut small and you have megalomania when you say that Estonia can solve problems. Every district of England or Germany or Sweden or France has more economic power and influence than Estinia -- wake up okay? Your politicians are gravediggers of Eesti pride! :mad:

[Äike]

lol you are really naive Karl! :rolleyes2: Yes of course your politicians are soooooo nationalistic that they enter the Euro money zone and give up national sovereignity ---- EU law is superior to national law, you know that?!! And your country dont has a say on the money, it is only 1 of 17 Euro countries and your country is one of the smallest.

And you must be total joking when you say that Estonia can help to solve the Euro financial crisis!! :rolleyes: Estonian economy makes 0,2% of the economy of the EU! 0,2%!! ZERO KOMMA TWO! :embarrassed Your country HAS NO INFLUENCE!! Latvia has no influence too!! I tell you, our countries are absolut small and you have megalomania when you say that Estonia can solve problems. Every district of England or Germany or Sweden or France has more economic power and influence than Estinia -- wake up okay? Your politicians are gravediggers of Eesti pride! :mad:

lol, calm down. Your posts are so "fierce".

Your country is joining the Euro-zone in 2014, if the Latvian government's plan is successful. What do you think about that?

[Albion]

But I am a realist

Optimist.

[Eldritch]

Well, immigration issues are actually a separate topic from the €urozone's impending demise. Estonia doesn't shovel money out to blacks or MENA's like most Westerners do.

They didn't shovel kroonis at them, and I doubt that they'll start shoveling €uros at them. However I fear that might be required to change that policy.

[Inese]

Your country is joining the Euro-zone in 2014, if the Latvian government's plan is successful. What do you think about that?
What do you think?? :rolleyes2: I oppose it with all my heart and soul! But i hope EU and Euro are ruined until 2014 then everything is fine again with normal nation states.

[Groenewolf]

They didn't shovel kroonis at them, and I doubt that they'll start shoveling €uros at them. However I fear that might be required to change that policy.

One should probably read well many EU-treaties and directives and a lot of other things. But it would not be surprising if pressure came from the EU-mandarins on Estonia to change certain parts of their legislature.

[poiuytrewq0987]

I think one of the biggest mistakes the US has ever made was not forcing the war-ravaged Europe to adopt the American dollar as the primary currency.

[Klärchen]

Welcome to the Euro zone, dear Estonians! :)

We call the Euro now "Teuro" - from German "teuer" = expensive, because almost everything has become more expensive... :rolleyes2:

[Albion]

I think one of the biggest mistakes the US has ever made was not forcing the war-ravaged Europe to adopt the American dollar as the primary currency.

That would be a mistake for both of us. Think about it.

[Eldritch]

Welcome to the Euro zone, dear Estonians! :)

We call the Euro now "Teuro" - from German "teuer" = expensive, because almost everything has become more expensive... :rolleyes2:

Oh yes indeed.

When we were set to give up the Finnmark for the €uro, we were assured that prices would not rise. Well, after a few uears we could see that indeed that was the case: the prices on pricetags were the same as before, only the currency was different. :rolleyes2:

(6Fmk = 1€).

[Eldritch]

So here are our top ten predictions for 2011:

1. Yet another eurozonecrisisin the spring if not before, when Spain and Italy have to refinance in aggregate over €400 billion of bonds. The euro might break up at this point, though European politicians are normallyable to respond to a crisis and I suspect that what will break up the euro will be the failure of most of the countries to take the tough medicine necessary to make their economies competitive over the longer term.

We give it only a one in five chance of surviving in its present form for ten years. If the euro doesn’t break up, this could be the year when it weakens substantially towards parity with the dollar.

[Monolith]

Thus if one euro would have been worth 0.00000000000000000000000000001 dollars, then the Estonian kroon would also have been worthless.

I have already told you (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showpost.php?p=252248&postcount=9) that's not true.

[Breedingvariety]

The reality of changing to euro was the same as when country devalue its currency and then changes it to smaller denominated new currency. European currencies were devalued. They accounted for the devaluation when they changed in to euro. May be even established some room for further devaluation by raising prices more than they should have been if seeking to account for devalued currency.

Now Germans see raising prices not just because usual devaluation, but also because their currency is used to pay for excesses of other countries and EU as a waistful project itself.

[esaima]

And you must be total joking when you say that Estonia can help to solve the Euro financial crisis!!
Yes.And Estonian finance minister also said something like that.I think the Estonian finance minister was joking, too.:rolleyes:

[poiuytrewq0987]

Yes.And Estonian finance minister also said something like that.I think the Estonian finance minister was joking, too.:rolleyes:

All hail Estonia, the 21st century economic superpower who's going to solve all of our problems!!!

[Monolith]

All hail Estonia, the 21st century economic superpower who's going to solve all of our problems!!!
Who's we? Don't you live in America?

[poiuytrewq0987]

Who's we? Don't you live in America?

Estonia is an international player, the country is going to blow us way outta the water with its economic prowess brah

[Fortis in Arduis]

Yeah, wow, Estonia is going to 'save' the European project, I am soooo delighted.

Welcome to the new Soviet Union Estonia, hopefully you will be able to pump this cancerous old bitch with a final blast of steroids and painkillers, just to keep her going in time for the family to say goodbye.

http://kuvat.uusisuomi.fi/sites/default/files/imagecache/artikkeli/kuvat/viroeuro.jpg

^ Sad, very sad indeed

Karl, are you just indifferent or what? :(

[Klärchen]

Oh yes indeed.

When we were set to give up the Finnmark for the €uro, we were assured that prices would not rise. Well, after a few uears we could see that indeed that was the case: the prices on pricetags were the same as before, only the currency was different. :rolleyes2:

(6Fmk = 1€).

The same in Germany, although 1€ was originally "only" 2DM.
But 6Fmk...:eek:

Here many many people want to have the Mark back - although I'm afraid it wouldn't be the same as before.

[Adalwolf]

R.I.P Estonia, you had a good run...

Now I wonder if Iceland will be next in forfeiting to this NWO monolith.

[Eldritch]

Now I wonder if Iceland will be next in forfeiting to this NWO monolith.

Unlikely, their independence party is pretty strong, as far as I know.

[Adalwolf]

Except for the fact that their economy has been drowning in debt for the last two years.