Estonia to begin road to euro in June

Estonia will apply to join the European Exchange Rate mechanism, ERM-2, in June, Finance Minister Taavi Veskimagi said Thursday. Countries wishing to join the eurozone must be inside ERM-2 for at least two years before adopting the European single currency. Inside ERM-2, currencies are tied to a central parity against the euro and may only fluctuate by plus or minus 15 percent. Estonia, which joined the European Union on May 1, hopes to join the eurozone by 2007.