Estonia made last-minute preparations Friday on the eve of its entry into the eurozone, with officials insisting everything was going according to plan for the New Year's day switchover, reported the dpa. At the stroke of midnight, the small Baltic state with a population of 1.3 million will become the 17th member of the pan- European monetary bloc. It will also become the first former Soviet republic to do so. "This is a great achievement and a fair reward for a country that has been firmly committed to maintaining sound fiscal policies. The single currency will provide a stable framework for the Estonian economy," said European Union Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn in a statement welcoming Estonia's euro accession. Most cash machines in Estonia have been offline since Thursday as banks reprogramme and refill them with fresh euro notes. The country's largest bank, Swedbank, described the changeover process as "the biggest and most complicated project in Estonian banking history" and said that, in keeping with other banks, it would be extending branch opening hours over the weekend to help customers through the transition. Estonian Banking Association chairman Riho Unt said there was no need to worry about the currency switch. "People do not have any necessity to rush to the money exchanges," he said. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso meanwhile stressed the convenience the euro would bring. "The euro is there to improve everyday life. It makes travel elsewhere in the euro area easier and cheaper for Estonian citizens, with no need to change currencies and pay commission," he said.
