Paet: Resolving Eurozone Issues Vital
During Denmark’s European Union presidency in the first half of 2012, Estonia’s main concern is resolving issues regarding the Eurozone debt crisis, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet.
The intergovernmental agreement aimed at strengthening the Eurozone must be adopted not later than by March, Paet said.
Moving forward with the Rail Baltic project, funding the development of rural areas and equalizing agricultural subsidies to member states should be on the EU priority list, said Paet, once again emphasizing that Estonia does not support the proposal of the European Commission to set the cutoff for cohesion funds for all countries at a level 2.5 percent of GDP.
The development of the EU internal market, especially of digital goods, and Eastern Partnership are other aspects important for Estonia, he said.
"I mentioned all of these concerns during a recent discussion with the Danish minister of European affairs and my colleague promised to take them seriously," said Paet.
Also, the EU should grant candidate nation status to Serbia, continue Turkey's accession process and open accession negotiations with Montenegro during Denmark's presidency, said Paet.
Ingrid Teesalu