Estonian president wants to see Lithuania, Latvia in eurozone ASAP
23.10.2012, 14:17Estonia's President Toomas Hendrik Ilves says he would like Lithuania and Latvia to join the eurozone as soon as possible, adding the accession would enhance the Baltic influence in the so-called European core, writes ERR.
In an interview to Veidas magazine, Ilves says that Ilves said that Estonia’s adoption of the euro in early 2011 was a good step.
In the president's words, the move helped restore trust of foreign investors and eliminate external pressure to devalue its national currency.
“However, some countries want a two-speed Europe divided along the lines of the eurozone. "We must be honest and admit that some countries of the European Union want to build a two-speed Europe based on the eurozone," he said.
"Consequently, it is our aspiration is to see Lithuania and Latvia joining the eurozone as soon as possible. With all three Baltic countries in the eurozone, our common influence in the so-called core of Europe would intensify."
Speaking about the Baltic cooperation, he says that it now includes "money, iron, concrete, railway, and nuclear power plant."
"In the 21st century, we no longer need the emotional rhetoric about our common historic legacy so much.
First and foremost, we need projects that would join the markets and people of the Baltic countries, connect us better to Europe from the economic and security point of view," Ilves concludes.