ABSTRACT
I welcome the initiative of SUERF to address the questions on efficiency and regulation of the financial sector on the Colloquium and at the same time give thanks for the opportunity of participating in this discussion. The timing is opportune for an accession country where, on one side Estonia is finishing its preparations to attain the legal status of EU member state and when, at the same time, the Financial Services Action Plan is to be finalised. This allows us to have both a newcomer’s and still an outsider’s view on the reforms taking place in the Union. But this also demands concentration on the new challenges coming from the rights and obligations of the membership. The 1990s were extremely exciting times for Central and Eastern Europe as a market-oriented financial sector was to be built up. The new millennium for the EU will see ten recruits hoping for the best that they will have a voice on European issues.
