OREANDA-NEWS. January 13, 2012. The European Voice has asked Edward Lucas, central and eastern Europe correspondent of The Economist, to pick out which countries deserve a carrot and which deserve a stick for last year’s achievements.

In his nomination, Lucas wrote: “For a second year in a row, Estonia wins the Golden Swot award. With 8% growth in its gross domestic product in 2011, it was Europe's best-performing economy. Andrus Ansip is almost Europe's longest-serving prime minister. He was re-elected last year, along with Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the country's waspish, US-educated president. Complacency is Estonia's biggest problem for 2012. Others should be so lucky.”