Polish PM: Euro + Good Leadership = Growth
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, on a visit to Tallinn today, said the euro changeover was one factor in Estonia's rapid recovery from the recession, but said the other side was austerity and good leadership.
"Many are amazed at how well Estonia has recovered," Tusk was quoted on uudised.err.ee as saying. "The success of the euro in Estonia is a very good example to other European countries."
One of those concerned is Poland itself, which has decided at a referendum that it will join the euro area, making the changeover a question of "when," Tusk said.
"Our job is to arrange it so the transition to the euro will be as free of risk as possible for the state. Thus we are keeping a close eye on what happened in Estonia and Slovakia and what will soon happen in Latvia," said Tusk.
He said there was no correlation between membership in the Eurozone itself and performance in crisis.
"Good societies with smart leaders can succeed regardless of whether they have the euro or not," he said on uudised.err.ee.
"When I am in Estonia or Slovakia, I see that it's the existence of the euro that makes them strong and allowed them to cope with the crisis."
At a joint press conference, Tusk and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip stressed that cuts and economic growth should not be opposites.
It is fallacious, said Tusk, to think in terms of "either" cuts or growth. "Both Estonia and Poland believe that these two things can be compatible."