Posted on 08/13/2010 12:09:20 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Slovakia’s new government came under fire from its eurozone partners, particularly Germany, on Thursday after its parliament voted overwhelmingly to reject taking part in a European Union aid package for the troubled Greek economy.
The German government criticised the Slovak parliament’s decision in unusually harsh terms. “All member states committed themselves politically to assistance for Greece,” said a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Every member relies on solidarity; solidarity is no one-way street.” Ms Merkel would address the issue when Iveta Radicova, the Slovak prime minister, visited the German capital on August 25, he added.
The European Commission in Brussels also reacted angrily to the news.
“It is a breach of the commitment undertaken by Slovakia in the Eurogroup,” Olli Rehn, the economics and monetary affairs commissioner, said in the wake of the vote. “I can only regret this breach of solidarity within the euro area and I expect the Eurogroup and the Ecofin Council to return to the matter in their next meeting.”
A Commission spokesman added that Slovakia had itself benefited from the increased financial stability that resulted from the bail-out facility it originally endorsed.
But he stressed that the loan package to Greece was not put at risk by Slovakia, which was to provide just over 1 per cent of the total needed for the €80bn ($104bn, £66bn) bail-out.
Slovakia, which is much poorer than Greece, adopted the euro last year, and as a member of the zone was expected to provide more than €800m, its portion of the rescue package that saved Greece this year.
The idea is deeply unpopular in Slovakia. Ms Radicova, who took power after parliamentary elections in June, had long been opposed to bailing out Greece and her predecessor, Robert Fico, had been lukewarm about the scheme.
The parliament voted on Thursday by 69-2 to reject the Greek aid package. Mikulas Dzurinda, the foreign minister, explained that Greece’s troubles were the result of “irresponsible decisions” made by member states and commercial banks, and that his country was still pro-European.
While rejecting the Greek package, the Slovak parliament did back the country’s €4.4bn participation in the larger €440bn European Financial Stability Facility, aimed at preventing the spread of the Greek crisis.
Slovakia has a per capita GDP of $21,200 at purchasing power parity, while Greece has a per capita GDP of $32,000. Slovakia embarked on a bout of painful economic reforms in 1998 that transformed it into one of Europe’s top economic performers.
Nothing new. Just more East Europeans being told to bleed for communists again.
House of Cards.
Mighty tough talk from the Sudetenland!
Its always refreshing to hear a politician speak the TRUTH!
So, maybe Slovakia can survive, and even prosper, without either the dictates or “benefits” from the EU.
As someone with Slovak heritage and a person who has visited the country it saddens me that the Slovaks “joined” the EU. When I was there, it seemed to be their desire to be accepted as a member of Western Europe and the EU was what they saw as the key. Maybe a bit of an identity crisis that is now panning out very badly. I hope they hold tough, but look at what happens to countries that resist the EU (Ireland/Denmark)..they get pushed into the system and bullied anyway.
The rulers in Brussels have spoken! If Slovakia knows whats good for them they'd better jump!
And they are right.
In the long run it's probably the best thing that could happen to those who resist the pull of the EU. The EU is destined to fail and fail big time. The history of the inability of Europeans to get along with each other over, say, the past 1500 years should be a very strong clue as to where the EU is headed.....
Virtually all the Warsaw Pact countries, and USSR, dreamt of new governments based on The Constitution.
Clinton and Blair made sure they didn't go that route, sending Oxford and Harvard socialists into the newly independent countries to guide them to EUrotopian economies and governments.
The NATO/EU war on Yugoslavia sealed the deal for any dreamers of U.S.A. type representative capitalist free enterprise under rule of law.
yitbos
Damn right! Shameless Greece has been stealing from EU for 30 years while Slovakia was communist now Greece expects poor and tiny Slovakia to write a big check to Greece.
F ‘em. Make something people want to buy, laziness and molotov cocktails aren’t it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.