FREEDOM and Solidarity (SaS), one of the ruling coalition parties, will not support Slovakia’s participation in the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in a parliamentary vote, party leader Richard Sulík told a press conference on April 20, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
“We are the only parliamentary party which has decided not to be drawn into false solidarity,” Sulík said, as quoted by the Sme daily. “We haven’t forgotten that in the first place we are here for the citizens of Slovakia, to defend their interests and not the interests of foreign banks that have been earning high interest from loans for irresponsible countries for long years.”
The ESM is a tool designed by the European Union to provide stability to the euro by assisting member states with possible loans if they encounter serious sovereign debt problems.
European leaders agreed to the mechanism at a summit in March and it now requires approval by national parliaments.
It is now questionable whether ESM can win approval in the Slovak parliament, as without support from SaS the coalition government will need to find support among opposition MPs.
Smer, the largest opposition party, has not officially stated its position on the European Stability Mechanism.
