BRATISLAVA, October 26, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova is leaving for the crucial eurozone summit in Brussels that is to identify solutions to the debt crisis with a mandate for negotiations from the Slovak Parliament’s European Affairs Committee. She wants to push through in Brussels measures preventing large European banks from solving their problems via their subsidiaries in other countries. “I have the mandate of the parliamentary committee to present very clear positions of the Slovak Republic in negotiation at the summit,” Radicova stated following the meeting of the committee.
The prime minister said that Slovakia would attempt to push through the request that parent banks be banned from solving their possible problems using capital of their subsidiaries in other countries. She announced that the proposal was perceived with understanding of leaders from other countries and earned their support. “Works on this mechanism are coming to their end while it is of such high priority and importance for us that we have opened these negotiations and I believe that today [on Wednesday] we will agree on a solution at the summit. We have to protect our banks in Slovakia,” said Radicova.
At the summit, Slovakia will also be against further hiking of states’ guarantees ad will support banks’ solving their problems on their own first of all, for example by stopping dividend payments or overseeing their profits. Only then the government of the given country would be able to enter the process of solving banks‘ problems. According to her, EU leaders have stricken accord also regarding tough regulation of banks, controls of individual countries and their sanctioning. The prime minister confirmed as well the existing agreement on the need to hike banks’ tier one capital ratio to nine percent.
The problematic Greece however remains an open issue, says the prime minister. “It is apparent that the debt of Greece will have to be reduced more significantly, to the mentioned 120 percent of GDP and also further measures will follow. The solution should enable the country to return to financial markets by 2020.
Slovakia is also prepared for possible changes to the Lisbon Treaty, but only under clear conditions set in advance. If it became necessary to reopen the Lisbon Treaty due to the countries in the program, or tough fiscal rules and their observance, then Slovakia is open to discussion, said Radicova.
As far as the possible extension of the new, permanent bailout fund by funds from the current temporary rescue mechanism is concerned Slovakia will be unambiguously against it.
European Union leaders held talks this Sunday to try to hammer out a comprehensive plan for tackling the euro zone debt crisis. However, some form of a final agreement is expected just on Wednesday.
SITA