Slovakia could be the Achilles’ heel of Greece once again as the agreement on additional assistance to the debt-ridden Greeks starts to be questioned again.
Slovakia buffered a wave of criticism for refusing on principle to participate in the first bail-out loan for Greece, and now it looks set to condition Greece’s new assistance to the country firstly fulfilling the recovery programme that is already in place. Slovakia is also demanding a stricter programme where Greece would have to forge ahead with privatisation and provide collateral against its borrowing.
Slovakia would also like to see the private sector involved more in the new aid package for Greece, according to the Ministry. TASR newswire quotes German newspaper Handelsblatt as citing a top EU official saying that the second wave of assistance to Greece is being delayed because of reservations from Slovakia, but also from the United Kingdom.