World
Estonia became the 17th country on Saturday to adopt the euro, despite a crisis in the currency club which is likely to mean bigger eastern European countries will put off euro zone entry for years.
Updated : Jan 01, 2011, 08:25 AM IST
Estonia became the 17th country on Saturday to adopt the euro, despite a crisis in the currency club which is likely to mean bigger eastern European countries will put off euro zone entry for years.
The small Baltic state began to switch from its kroon currency to the euro at midnight after official celebrations in capital Tallinn, which included European monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn and the prime ministers of neighbouring Latvia and Lithuania.
The switch marks the culmination of the country's successful transition from a former Soviet state, which regained its independence in 1991.