Parliamentary speaker and head of the SaS party Richard Sulik is far from happy about how Slovakia is dealing with its participation in the new bailout loan for Greece, calling it a rip-off of Slovak and European taxpayers.
Sulik referred to the agreement that was struck in parliament before finance minister Ivan Miklos set off for talks, as it concerned a far lower amount than that which Slovakia is now likely to contribute. Even though the final details of the Greek rescue plan still have to be ironed out, it looks set that over two thirds of the EUR 109 billion bailout will be covered by European taxpayers, with the International Monetary Fund footing the rest.
If Sulik’s calculations are right, Slovakia would have to cough up around EUR 840 million in surety, and not the maximum EUR 350 million that Sulik and his party eventually negotiated before talks began, and which minister Miklos confirmed on 1 July.
Sulik has made it clear that the conditions of the new bailout will not help Greece sort out its problems and so he and his party plan to block the motion in parliament. Europe’s attention would therefore turn to Slovakia once again, if it proves to be the only country that disagrees with the loan structure.
The Ministry of Finance is happy at least, because the latest agreement means Greece will not slip into uncontrolled bankruptcy, which has helped prop up the financial markets and the euro, and been applauded by the rating agencies. Ministry spokesman Martin Jaros reiterated the minister’s sentiment that if Greece were to default, this would impact the whole eurozone disastrously and could lead to another crisis.
Greece is on a slippery pole to economic ruin . ha ha ha !