2011年10月10日星期一

UPDATE 1-Slovaks in last-ditch talks on euro fund

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* Coalition party SaS wants tighter EFSF mandate, ESM opt-out

* Leaders to hold last-ditch meeting on Monday

* Parliament vote due on Oct. 11, fate of government at stake

By Martin Santa and Michael Winfrey

BRATISLAVA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Slovakian coalition leaders meet on Monday in a last-ditch bid to reach agreement on widening the mandate of the euro zone's bailout fund, under increasing pressure from turmoil in euro zone banks and a shift in public opinion at home.

Only Slovakia and Malta have yet to approve extra powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in its fight against the sovereign debt crisis.

The small liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party argues that, as the zone's second poorest member, Slovakia should not have to bail out other euro zone countries, but it says it is still open to talks.

The coalition parties called a meeting for 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) ahead of a vote on the EFSF in parliament on Tuesday, a spokesman for the SaS said. The party has so far said it will vote against the EFSF expansion.

As Slovakia drags its heels, the crisis has picked up speed. Franco-Belgian bank Dexia agreed early on Monday to the nationalisation of its Belgian division and secured state guarantees, and the Greek central bank effectively nationalised a small bank on Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks late on Sunday that they would unveil new measures in the coming weeks to solve the debt crisis, but gave no details.

An opinion poll by the Polis agency showed on Monday that Slovaks had begun to lean towards approving an expansion of the facility, which may put added pressure on SaS to give in.


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