THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) has asked Slovakia to remove investment restrictions on pension funds, established in the second pension pillar as part of pension reform.
The EC sees these limitations as an infringement of the European Communities treaty pertaining to restrictions on the free movement of capital, the SITA newswire wrote.
If the EC does not receive a satisfactory reply within two months, it may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.
The law on old-age pension saving introduced restrictions on free movement of capital among the member states because it defines restrictive measures related to investments. Under this law, pension fund management companies cannot invest more than 30 percent of their assets in other EU states.
Moreover, pension fund management companies cannot invest more than 20 percent in securities issued by other EU states or in securities guaranteed by other EU states. Such restrictions do not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by Slovakia, the EC noted on its web site.
