An item first published on this blog on 6th July, 2012.
An interesting and detailed post here, from the redoubtable Edward Hugh, about one of the two other CEE countries, apart from Estonia, that have acceded to the Eurozone, namely Slovenia (the third country is Slovakia).
Having consistently outperformed Estonia and even ‘older’ Eurozone countries like Portugal, it seems not all is well with Slovenia.
Like Estonia, a small country (with a population of around 2 million) which was formerly a part of Yugoslavia and in fact the first constituent state to gain independence in 1991, Slovenia now seems to be drifting towards joining Spain, Greece, Ireland et al in an IMF or similar bailout, according to the article.
Moreover, in some areas where Estonia has seen an improvement over the last year or so, for example in GDP levels and construction volumes, Slovenia has seen a decline. Unemployment, whilst at a somewhat lower rate than Estonia’s (over eight per cent in Slovenia as compared with a little over 11 per cent in Estonia) has been consistently growing in Slovenia since 2008, whereas the trend in Estonia has been for a fall since mid-2010 (though with small recent increases).
Furthermore, Estonia has leapfrogged Slovenia in the credit ratings stakes, at least as Fitch sees it. As reported on this blog, Estonia currently holds a Fitch rating of A+ whereas Slovenia is now rated at A.
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