Finland is the only Nordic country that has joined the Euro area. It may be interesting to have a brief discussion on how this situation came about and how we in Finland feel about it in the current situation. *** Finland applied for membership of the European Union in March 1992 while the country was experiencing a prolonged bust; in fact, a depression.
We are equally aware that there are still barriers to financial access that hinder 17.4 percent of population from accessing the (formal or informal) financial system. Further, we very much recognize that financial access does not necessarily translate to better living standards—but a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. 5.