Ardo Hansson: Celebrating the tenth anniversary of Estonia's accession
to NATO and EU
Opening speech for Europe Day by Mr Ardo Hansson, Governor of the Bank of Estonia
(Eesti Pank), at the Seminar on the impact of the European Union on Estonia, Eesti Pank,
Tallinn, 9 May 2014.
* * *
Today we are celebrating Europe Day. We have just passed the tenth anniversary of
Estonia's accession to the European Union, though the move towards Europe had started
when the country regained its independence and linked the Estonian kroon to the German
mark.
To people in Estonia, being part of Europe means democracy, freedom, security and
well-being. Closer integration with the European Union has been driven by the desire to
ensure that these benefits are maintained. These core European values remain more in the
background in our everyday life as we take them for granted, but events in Ukraine have
given a sharp reminder of their importance.
Accession to the EU has increased Estonia's influence on the world. Estonia's voice is
heard better in Europe than ever before and Estonia is involved in setting the joint economic
policy of Europe and the euro area. This gives us the power to affect processes ourselves,
and the responsibility to do our work as well as possible and to answer for the results.
As the central bank of the Republic of Estonia and a member of the Eurosystem, Eesti
Pank has also contributed to the sustainable development and increased prosperity of
the Estonian economy. It is our job to ensure that companies and households can make
transactions and calculations using a currency with stable purchasing power.
During the time Estonia has been a member of the European Union, the well-being of
the people of Estonia has improved. EU membership has meant our economic
environment has been more stable and deserving of confidence. In the past ten years,
economic growth in Estonia has surpassed average economic growth rates in the European
Union, so that Estonian GDP in purchasing power terms has advanced from 55% of the EU
average in 2003 to 71% in 2012. The incomes of residents of Estonia have also increased,
with real wages up more than 40% in the past decade.
EU membership has brought both opportunities and risks. It is the job of those setting
national policy to make sure that risks are minimised and that we are best able to profit from
opportunities and I am sure that the analysis provided here today by my colleagues will help
in guiding the decisions behind that policy.
The presentations we will hear today have been prepared thanks largely to the
initiative of the European Commission Representation in Estonia to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of Estonia's accession to NATO and the European Union.
In summary we can say that in ten years we have made Estonia and the space where
Estonian people operate much larger.