BRATISLAVA, December 13, (WEBNOVINY) — The eurozone needs to make its decision-making processes more flexible, according to KDH leader and Transport Minister Jan Figel. He opines that low responsiveness of the monetary union is one of its major problems. “The problem is not the euro as such, but huge debts, low responsiveness of individual countries, including Slovakia with regard to the global situation and slowness of our decision-making processes. With respect to responsiveness, the eurozone is rather a giant on clay feet”, said Figel at Tuesday’s news conference held alongside a conference on the eurozone’s future.
Figel opines that politicians should add dynamics and responsiveness to decision-making within the eurozone. Agreements from the latest summit might help that purpose. “I am convinced that a fiscal agreement is a contribution to such union and eurozone,” Figel said.
The SDKU-DS party fully supports the direction the eurozone has taken on at the last eurozone summit, said party deputy leader and Finance Minister Ivan Miklos. “We fully support the basic direction which Europe has embarked on, namely building a fiscal union via strengthening rules and enforceability of these rules; which means not building of some big strong central institutions, not European taxes, not big redistribution and support for irresponsibility, but pressure for responsible politics, necessary and inevitable reforms,” he added. Miklos went on to say that Slovakia’s membership in the European Union and the eurozone are one of the fundamental priorities for SDKU-DS. The membership does not offer just advantages, but requires solutions and accepting responsibility, Miklos noted.
MOST-HID deputy Ivan Svejna claims that fiscal union already exists in the form of Maastricht criteria. The problem is that several countries, including Slovakia, do not abide by them, which has to change. “Therefore, it is very important that Slovakia returns to the trajectory of respecting these rules,” Svejna said.
According to Miklos, it is possible to reduce the deficit and at the same time support economic growth, but reforms are inevitable. Priorities, according to the finance minister, are to ensure economic growth in Slovakia, boost employment, preserve jobs and “for that, it is important to reject populism, both anti-European and leftist populism and demagogy,” he said. Miklos added that whether Slovakia will have to pay sanctions resulting from new European agreements or will avoid them will show if it has responsible politicians in power following the early parliamentary elections in March 2012.
SITA