Estonia role model on fiscal policy

  • 2012-08-15

TALLINN - Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with the Deputy Chancellor of Germany and Minister of Economic Affairs and Technology Dr. Philipp Rosler on Tuesday to discuss guaranteeing the euro area countries’ stability, reports LETA. “There are no miracle solutions to the crises; the solutions to the crises are difficult. Naturally, we are concerned over the future of the euro, but we are also optimistic,” said Ansip. According to him, Estonians believe that one can only spend money that comes from tax revenue, and that the basis for bail-out packages is executing structural reforms. “In this matter we agree with Germany, which implements a conservative budgetary policy,” he added.

Rosler remarked that countries need to follow the example of Estonia over the past two years. “This serves as a role model for the rest of the journey for the entire euro area,” said the German Deputy Chancellor. He added that both the fiscal agreement and the ESM agreements will have to be strictly adhered to and violations need to be followed by sanctions.

“There should be no concessions about structural reforms; if the agreed-upon actions are not carried out, the countries in question would not get aid payments,” noted the German minister.

The meeting also involved a discussion about increasing trade and developing economic cooperation between the two countries. Estonia and Germany both consider it important to support and develop the digital economy and energy projects that would unite Europe.