Estonia's eurozone preparations are on track

Jean-Claude Trichet , president of the European Central Bank, said yesterday in Frankfurt that preparations for Estonia's accession into the eurozone were on track, writes Äripäev.

"Until now, all the information I have is that it goes in the right direction. A lot of hard work remains to be done. We will have an occasion of rechecking everything. The preparation seems to be on track," he said.

According to Trichet, Estonia has done a lot of hard work to meet eurozone criteria and said that he is encouraging others to do the same.

Trichet is due to visit Tallinn on September 19 for launching the euro information campaign and for handing over the symbolic present - euro bills on a star-shaped base - to Estonia as the newcomer in the eurozone.

Trichet and European commissioner Olli Rehn will be keynote speakers in the euro conference to be held in Tallinn on September 20.

Andres Lipstok, the governor of the Estonian central bank Eesti Pank, attended the meeting of the ECB's interest rate committee as an observer.

Commenting the news that ECB left interest rates unchanged at a record low 1 percent, Trichet said: “Based on its regular economic and monetary analyses, the Governing Council views the current key ECB interest rates as appropriate. It therefore decided to leave them unchanged. The governing council has today also decided to continue to conduct its main refinancing operations and its special-term refinancing operations with a maturity of one maintenance period as fixed-rate tender procedures with full allotment for as long as necessary, and at least until the end of this year’s twelfth maintenance period on 18 January 2011.

Toomas Hõbemägi - balticbusinessnews.com

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