Slovak News Back to the news
SDKU: Government Irresponsible vis-a-vis Greece's Recovery Package
Monday 03 May 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, May 3 (TASR) - Postponing the decision on the amount of money that Slovakia should contribute towards Greece's recovery package until after the June 12 general election is irresponsible, said opposition SDKU-DS party election leader Iveta Radicova on Monday.
"We propose that an extraordinary session of Parliament be summoned vis-a-vis the adoption of a law on possible financial aid for Greece. However, we say a resolute 'no' to this kind of aid," Radicova told journalists on Monday.
Radicova said that SDKU's call has already been presented to the parliamentary parties, and that negotiations are going on at the moment. In order to summon a session, a lawmaker has to submit a proposal to the parliamentary chairman, supported by the signatures of at least 30 MPs.
According to Radicova, the law, once adopted, should thoroughly specify the conditions under which the aid should be provided. "SDKU has the moral right to call on the Government to act responsibly when it comes to handling public money, as this has effects on public debts," she said, adding that this kind of borrowing, which causes further debts, is a precedent that may in turn worsen the situation in any EU-member country. "The precedent set by Greece could possibly be followed by Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and one day, maybe not so long from now, Slovakia," said Radicova.
She also noted that Slovakia's share, which has already been calculated at €816 million, is close to how much Slovakia spends on its family policies each year, which is €889 million. "It's a large amount for us, while it won't help Greece without the introduction of essential reforms," said Radicova.
Slovakia is expected to lend €816 million to Greece over the next three years under the €80-billion loan eurozone rescue package sealed on Sunday, said Finance Minister Jan Pociatek after the eurozone countries approved the bailout plan. Slovakia is set to loan Greece €306 million this year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to chip in with another €30 billion over the three years.
All rights reserved. Any publishing or further dissemination of press releases and photographs from TASR's resources without TASR's prior written approval constitutes a violation of the Copyrights Act.
