BRUSSELS, May 13 (UPI) -- The European Commission said Thursday Estonia was cleared to become the 17th nation to join the eurozone.
Concurrently, the commission denied entrance to the troubled currency zone to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary Poland, Romania and Sweden, the EUobserver reported Thursday.
Global markets have been hit hard in recent months on concerns eurozone members, most notably Greece, could default on their public debts. As the crisis escalated, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund made $957 billion in loans available to debt-burdened EU countries, while preparing to loan Greece an additional $143 billion.
Nevertheless, "Nobody wants to leave the euro, others are waiting to join," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.
Poland and Sweden, however, have opted to delay their entrance to the euro zone indefinitely, the EUobserver said.
"Our currency has been tied to the Deutsche mark and then the euro since its creation in 1992," Estonian financial adviser Kadri Uustal said. "So we don't have the flexibility of our own monetary policy but neither do we have the benefits of being in a bigger club."
