BRUSSELS, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Wednesday called on all parties in the Slovak parliament to rise above short-term politics, and support bolstering the eurozone's safety net European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in their next vote this week.
In a joint statement by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the two leaders urged Slovak parties to seize the next opportunity to ensure a swift ratification of expanded powers for the EFSF.
"We remain confident that the Slovak authorities and the parliament are fully aware of the critical importance of an enhanced and more flexible EFSF to preserve financial stability in the euro area that is in the interest of all euro countries, including the Slovak people," the statement read.
"Our common currency plays a crucial role in investment decisions, in growth, in jobs. This is about the prosperity of us all," the leaders said.
Slovak parliament voted down the government on Tuesday by rejecting a bill to boost the 440-billion-euro EFSF.
With a population of just 5.4 million, Slovakia is the only country in the now 17-member eurozone yet to ratify the deal, which must be approved by all countries sharing the single currency in order to take effect.
Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova had linked the EFSF deal to a confidence vote for the current Slovakian government.
Analysts say the country's main Socialist opposition party Smer is taking full advantage of the opportunity to usher in early elections.
"We're saying no to a rightist government, but we're saying yes to the rescue fund," Smer leader Robert Fico quoted as saying by local media reports.
This means the EFSF could be ratified in a possible new vote on Thursday with Smer, which abstained from voting on Tuesday, backing the fund after the current government is dissolved.
However, an European Parliament official on Wednesday told Xinhua that Brussels was not shaken by the Slovak parliament's decision to reject the EFSF bill.
"The situation was much more worrying two days ago" when the political motivation behind Slovakia's move was less obvious, said the official, who requested anonymity.
On Thursday, the European Parliament is expected to vote on a pre-European Council resolution calling once again for the bailout fund to be "communitirized".
"If the bailout fund was included in EU community law instead of being an inter-governmental agreement, we would not be in this situation," the official said, "In the current scenario, any country can block the bailout fund."
In the long-run, the EU plans to replace the EFSF by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The European Parliament is expected to push for the latter to be written into EU community law, using Slovakia as a example to support its position.
Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com
In a joint statement by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the two leaders urged Slovak parties to seize the next opportunity to ensure a swift ratification of expanded powers for the EFSF.
"We remain confident that the Slovak authorities and the parliament are fully aware of the critical importance of an enhanced and more flexible EFSF to preserve financial stability in the euro area that is in the interest of all euro countries, including the Slovak people," the statement read.
"Our common currency plays a crucial role in investment decisions, in growth, in jobs. This is about the prosperity of us all," the leaders said.
Slovak parliament voted down the government on Tuesday by rejecting a bill to boost the 440-billion-euro EFSF.
With a population of just 5.4 million, Slovakia is the only country in the now 17-member eurozone yet to ratify the deal, which must be approved by all countries sharing the single currency in order to take effect.
Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova had linked the EFSF deal to a confidence vote for the current Slovakian government.
Analysts say the country's main Socialist opposition party Smer is taking full advantage of the opportunity to usher in early elections.
"We're saying no to a rightist government, but we're saying yes to the rescue fund," Smer leader Robert Fico quoted as saying by local media reports.
This means the EFSF could be ratified in a possible new vote on Thursday with Smer, which abstained from voting on Tuesday, backing the fund after the current government is dissolved.
However, an European Parliament official on Wednesday told Xinhua that Brussels was not shaken by the Slovak parliament's decision to reject the EFSF bill.
"The situation was much more worrying two days ago" when the political motivation behind Slovakia's move was less obvious, said the official, who requested anonymity.
On Thursday, the European Parliament is expected to vote on a pre-European Council resolution calling once again for the bailout fund to be "communitirized".
"If the bailout fund was included in EU community law instead of being an inter-governmental agreement, we would not be in this situation," the official said, "In the current scenario, any country can block the bailout fund."
In the long-run, the EU plans to replace the EFSF by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The European Parliament is expected to push for the latter to be written into EU community law, using Slovakia as a example to support its position.
Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com
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