ECB demands independent statistics from Estonia
19.01.2010, 09:32In response to a request of the Estonian finance ministry to evaluate a bill on collecting statistical information, the European Central Bank said the Estonian government must ensure that national statistics are collected independently before the country adopts the euro.
“Several provisions of the draft law indicate that the Ministry of Finance has extensive powers to interfere in the production of national statistics,” the ECB said in a legal opinion dated Jan. 6, according to Bloomberg.
“The ECB stresses the importance of securing the independence of the National Statistics Institute as this is of particular importance for statistics required for assessing convergence and for the smooth functioning of the European monetary union framework following the adoption of euro.”
Estonia is seeking to become the third eastern European nation to adopt the euro after Slovenia and Slovakia to spur investment and trade by reducing currency risk for companies. It’s “highly likely” that Estonia will achieve its goal of joining the euro region in 2011, Commerzbank AG said last week.
“Estonia will guarantee the independence of national statistics and the national statistics office will operate in line with both European Union and Estonian regulations,” Estonian Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi said in an e-mailed comment to Bloomberg today. “The planned changes will better than currently address the needs of consumers and subscribers to statistics.”
The draft bill will be discussed in parliament next month, he said.
The minority government of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip has cut the budget at the expense of domestic demand, exacerbating the second-deepest recession in the European Union, to ensure the currency swap by its target date. In 2009, Estonia fulfilled all fiscal and inflation targets required to switch to the common currency, the country’s central bank said on Dec. 15.