Standard & Poor's, the most contested rating agency in recent days for having downgraded its rating on the United States, mockingly continues to do its duty. This time, however, the assessment he issued is positive. The agency raised Estonia's credit rating by 2 notches from A to AA-. Another upgrade of the same size and it would be US-level.
“The increase reflects Estonia's consensus-oriented politics, flexible economy, transparent and productive public sector, sound financial management and robust economic growth prospects,” Standard & Poor's said in a statement. .
The former Soviet republic has "a solid economy and sound public debt management". Estonia saw an 8,5% increase in GDP in the first quarter of 2011: the highest growth in all of the 27-member Europe. Public debt is the lowest in the whole European Union: 6,6 % of GDP in 2010. It was also the only European country that ended 2010 with a fiscal surplus and for 2011 the central bank expects growth of 6,3%. The Baltic country joined the Eurozone on January 1, 2010 and the European Union in 2004.
Fitch also raised Estonia's rating on 5 July to A+, praising the austerity measures taken by the government in 2009 to lift the country out of the crisis. Moody's also puts the Baltic country in fifth place, with a rating of A1.
