Claudia Buch: 30 years of monetary reform in Estonia - lessons learned for the decade ahead

Keynote speech by Prof Claudia Buch, Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of monetary reform in Estonia, Tallinn, 20 June 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you very much for inviting me to talk at today's event celebrating the anniversary of the introduction of the Estonian kroon. I feel very honoured to speak here today. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the past 30 years of monetary history in Europe.

The success achieved by Estonia and other former transition economies is impressive: Estonia has implemented monetary reform, established a modern financial system, and managed the transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. This transformation has brought freedom and prosperity to many. But it also meant dealing with the hardships that any transformation process involves.

I would like to congratulate the Estonian people for everything they have achieved over the past 30 years – and I wish you all the best for the next decades in the common house of Europe and in the Eurosystem.

There are important lessons to be learned from the Estonian experience for all of us. These lessons could not be more relevant for the decade that lies ahead of us.