Goodbye Kroon, Hello Euro (5)

Published: 01.01.2011 00:07

Photo: Jacques-Alain Finkeltroc

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As the clocks struck twelve marking the arrival of the new year, Estonia bid fond farewell to its national currency, the kroon, becoming the 17th country to join the Eurozone.

Both currencies will be accepted in tandem over the course of a 14-day transition period, however shops, restaurants and other businesses must give change only in euros during that time.

The occasion was marked in Tallinn with a celebratory, outdoor concert on Theater Square. Shortly after midnight Prime Minister Andrus Ansip ceremonially withdrew his first euro notes from a cash machine at the event.

At a press conference held the afternoon prior to the changeover, Ansip reiterated his opinion that a speedy adoption of the euro was necessary to calm the fears of foreign investors who have been reluctant to deal with Estonia due to concerns over devaluation.

Estonia's adoption of the common currency is the culmination of efforts that began at the time the Baltic nation joined the EU in 2004. Pundits at the time optimistically predicted that Eurozone entry would come as early as 2007, however high inflation associated with the nation's record GDP growth continually prevented Estonia from meeting Maastricht criteria.

However the upheaval of the recent economic crisis damped down inflation enough to make the cut, and the government adopted belt-tightening measures that allowed it to meet the Eurozone entry rules.

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Comments (5)

  • Noud

    01.01.2011 02:41

    Hello Eesti. Tere tulemast Euroopasse. Arnoldus, Holland

  • Jüri Estam

    02.01.2011 00:11

    Since when has Estonia not been a part of Europe? Estonia was an organic part of Europe centuries before someone cooked up the idea of the EU. With all due respect, and while I expect it is well-intended, it makes me laugh when someone welcomes us into a cultural area that we never left. 50 years of Soviet occupation is a trifle, and even Russia is said to be Europe on this side of the Urals. The old town of Tallinn is a sister of Lübeck architecturally (Gothic facades), and in terms of the city charter. We have been drinking coffee more or less since the rest of Europe discovered coffee. Estonians are said to have sacked Sigtuna in Sweden in 1187 and the Danes, Swedes Germans and Poles ruled us for centuries thereafter. Several of our cities are Hansa towns, the prewar uniforms of the Estonian military officers were in the British style, Estonian seamen have visited a thousand ports from Rotterdam to Hull to Bordeaux to Johannesburg and beyond. We are no less European seafarers and merchants than the Dutch or the Scandinavians. We are a Lutheran country to the extent that we go to church. True, there is a strong pull towards the Finnic tribes of Northern Scandinavia and Russia, and that affects our identity too, but Estonia has been European for tens upon tens of generations. Better take your encylopaedia off the shelf and bone up on European history. Thanks for the welcome anyway, even if it is redundant.

  • Grant

    02.01.2011 22:46

    I am Australian and have only recently had the pleasure to visit Estonia for the first time. I think you have a wonderful country and friendly people from the little I had a chance to experience. I wish Estonian people the best of luck in becoming a user of the Euro.

  • knut albers

    06.01.2011 12:21

    I agree with Jüri Estam in this regard. Estonia always had its place in Europe for centuries. Estonia even has Hansa cities. They were known as Pernau, Dorpat and Reval back then, with strong ties to Bergen, Brugge and Steelyard, but also Novgorod (with sole jurisdiction over the port of Novgorod) and with branches in Rasborg and Viborg in Finland. And they were member of the Prussia, Livonia, and Sweden Circle.

  • Dirk DeMesmaeker

    09.01.2011 16:39

    Goodbye individual prosperity!