EU: Estonian economy is out of the danger zone

  • 2012-11-30

TALLINN- According to the European Union macro-economic report, the state of the Estonian economy is stable and good while imbalances threaten economies of 14 states at the moment, Public Broadcasting writes, referring to the European Commission's report.

These countries were Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The Estonian economy is not threatened by excessive imbalances now, European Commission's Estonian representation said. The report doesn't reflect the four states (Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Romania) in which macroeconomic adjustment programs are implemented, writes LETA.

With Estonia, the so-called alert mechanism is exceeded in international investment position (-57.8 percent, norm - 35 percent) and unemployment (in 2011, 14.4 percent, norm – 10 percent). The Commission stated that they don’t consider it necessary to conduct a more thorough analysis of the Estonian macroeconomic situation.

The European Commission also approved on Thursday of the 2013 economic growth analysis, in which it notes that Estonia faces major challenges in achieving growth prospects and fiscal aims. The Commission notes that public sector spending needs to be more effective, energy policy needs restructuring, labour market and education policy reforms. It also notes that there is a shortage of innovative companies and that can affect the state's competitiveness.