Renewed: 15.08.2012, 10:54
Government Communication Unit, 14 August 2012 14:49
Stenbock House, Tallinn, 14 August 2012 – Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr Philipp Rösler to discuss the structural reforms required to safeguard the stability of euro area countries.
“There are no miracle solutions to the crisis. The solutions are difficult. Of course we worry about the future of the euro, but we are optimistic,” Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said. According to the Prime Minister, Estonians believe only in spending money, which has been collected as taxes, with the bail-out package thus requiring structural reforms. “We agree with Germany about the need for a conservative budget,” Ansip added.
Rösler urges other countries to follow the example of Estonia in the last two years. “Estonia serves as the role model for the entire euro area,” the German Vice Chancellor said, adding that both the Fiscal Compact and the European Stability Mechanism must be followed strictly, with any violation sanctioned. “There will be no bargaining when it comes to structural reforms. If a country fails to perform, no bailout will be provided,” Rösler said.
In addition to stability in the euro area and the ESM, the officials also discussed how to improve trade and bilateral economic cooperation. Estonia and Germany both support development of the digital economy as well as energy projects that unite Europe.
“We are committed to uniting Europe”, Ansip said. “The greatest advantage of Europe lies in its single market. European resources are best exploited when invested in uniting the single market”.
The German Vice Chancellor, Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr Philipp Rösler also met with the Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts on Tuesday morning to discuss the single currency, export, information technology and energy.
Click here to watch a video of the press conference held after the meeting: http://valitsus.ee/et/uudised/pressikonverentsid#2672.
Photographs from the meeting and press conference are available online at http://valitsus.ee/et/uudised/pildialbum#2242-1.
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