OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2013. "Estonia's sovereign ratings reflect its sound public finances, its governance and institutional strengths, and reduced risk of balance-of-payments crises through euro membership," a press release said.

"Healthy public finances are a key credit strength. Estonia's government debt to GDP ratio of just under 10 percent is by far the lowest in the European Union, even after a rise in 2012 due to the assumption of contingent liabilities associated with the European Financial Stability Facility and the use of credit from the European Investment Bank to co-finance structural funds."

The rating agency also noted that, as a small and open economy, Estonia is highly vulnerable to economic developments in its trading partners. From 2012 to 2013, GDP growth slowed from 3.9 percent to 1.1 percent, due to lower investment and exports. On a positive note, Fitch expects growth to rise 3-4 percent annually over the next two years, reflecting improving conditions in Estonia's trading partners.