Economic Situation in the Baltics
Episode I: The Highest Inflation in the EU and the Impact for SMEs

A country with the highest inflation in the EU, Estonia, the baltic tiger, laboratorium for innovation as a digital state is under pressure. What is the cost of the highest inflation rate in the EU being next door to Russia? Is it an alarming signal for the EU? Estonia has been a centre for the common European single market and a driver for business-ideas, especially for start-ups and digitalisation. The country where Skype was created, the start-ups such as Bolt, TransferWise etc. have followed…
But now, the picture could change due to common challenges: According to inflation statistics, 2022
has been a painful year for financial markets following a worldwide increase in inflation. In countries
where the food and beverage industries constitute a large part of the economy, the rising prices caused
by inflation have influenced daily life and forced low-income consumers to reduce spending on other
goods, thereby slowing economic growth. In Estonia it is a major concern for SMEs to continue their
activities and threatens their survival. A new action plan for SMEs is needed.

Questions which we want to tackle in our debate: How the energy costs have been influencing the
producers and labour market? How do the Estonians feel it and what is their plan to survive the coming
winter and coming years? Do solutions for SMEs lie in digital developments, personalised approach and
finding opportunities for cooperation? We want to try a problem- and solution-oriented approach during
the online luncheon debate to Estonian entrepreneurs, politicians and academics