OREANDA-NEWS. July 01, 2009. Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with the Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who is in Estonia for the first time in history and who declared his support for Estonia in joining the Euro zone, reported the Official website valitsus.ee.

“I really look forward to seeing Estonia in the Eurozone as soon as possible,” said Prime Minister Gonzi, who, when assuming office in 2004, regarded the adoption of the euro in Malta as one of the most important goals. Malta joined the Eurozone at the beginning of last year, on 1 January 2008, which was a major event for the economic life of the country. According to the head of government of the island country, Malta became more attractive for investors right away after the adoption of the euro, significantly enlivening its economy. “The euro helped Malta create new and better jobs,” said Gonzi.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that Estonia wishes to join the Eurozone at the first available opportunity. “Estonia appreciates a strong and stable Eurozone, an important part of which is compliance with the Maastricht criteria. By meeting all requirements, we wish to join the Eurozone in January 2011, at the latest,” said Ansip. According to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Estonia’s adoption of the euro will make the entire European Union more stable.

In Prime Minister Ansip’s words, the greatest challenge for Estonia is the fulfilment of the budget criterion. “This year, we have managed to improve the budget position of the government by more than BEEK 16, which makes up 7.3 per cent of our gross domestic product, “said the head of the Estonian government. In order to ensure the competitiveness of the economy in the long-term, Estonia has curbed education expenses less than other fields and increased investments into research and development and innovation. To promote economic recovery, investment projects are being launched in Estonia this year and next in the greatest possible extent. Estonia has also decided to increase the loan and export guarantees that help contribute to the preservation of existing jobs. The volume of the grants to companies has been doubled to create new jobs.

Regardless of the global economic crisis, the situation in Malta is much better than in many other Member States of the European Union. In the third quarter of last year, the economic growth of the island country was 2.2 per cent, which is a good result, compared to the average of the Eurozone. However, export and tourism in Malta are on a downward trend. Similarly to Estonia, Malta is a country with an open economy, greatly depending on trade. So the main economic priority of its government is to increase export. The Maltese government will also continue investments into the tourism sector, which makes up almost a third of the gross domestic product of the country, and about a quarter of the export.

Lawrence Gonzi, the Prime Minister of Malta, gave an overview to the Estonian Prime Minister of the immigration problem in Malta. Due to massive illegal immigration from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea, immigration issues are an everyday problem for Southern Europe and especially the tiny country of Malta, whose reception capacity is very low due to its small territory and population. So, immigration has become one of the most important domestic and foreign policy issues for Malta. In the opinion of Estonia, the problems of Mediterranean countries in the reception and return of illegal immigrants requires fast response and solidarity from all Member States of the European Union.