BRATISLAVA, March 15, (WEBNOVINY) – Finance Minister Ivan Miklos has not yet achieved a change in the rules for calculating individual countries’ contributions into the European Stability Mechanism, or the permanent bailout fund. Miklos maintains this continues to be a principal issue for Slovakia. Miklos wants to achieve that contributions reflect the economic strength of a country, potentially in connection with the criterion of the strength of the financial sector or a country’s indebtedness, instead of the number of citizens. “We consider it to be a principal issue. That this key was used before means that poorer countries paid up for it,” the finance minister told Tuesday’s news conference.
According to Miklos, all new member states are leaning towards this opinion, too. According to him, the rules that were applied in the Greek bailout and in the European Financial Stability Facility are illogical and unjust. He restated that the rules should not take into consideration the number of citizens. “It is as if someone poor with a low income had to pay a 40 percent income tax, while someone rich with a high income paid 20 percent,” Miklos stated.
The finance minister admitted that old member states are not very keen to change the rules, but he believes there is space for a change. He believes that a compromise between the old and new states will be found and certain changes made.
Miklos went on to say that further matters remain open for a debate of EU finance ministers, who are to meet on Monday and should resolve the issues before the March EU summit.
The new, permanent European bailout fund with a lending capacity of EUR 500 billion is to replace the temporary stabilization facility.
SITA