Smer will most likely initiate another session for Slovak gold.
Slovakia will not be transferring its gold from the Bank of England back home. The parliament did not approve the programme of its session, in which the investment gold was to be discussed.
“This is by no means a hot issue, not even a topic for an extraordinary session by far,” Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Marián Viskupič said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. He admitted the topic is relevant, though.
Smer chair Robert Fico said on November 28 he would initiate the parliamentary session because there is no point in having gold stored in the UK, especially not in the times of Brexit and a potential financial crisis.
Another try
The programme of the December 4 extraordinary session was not, however, approved after 59 of the 118 present MPs supported Fico’s proposal.
The opposition voted against it along with non-affiliated MPs, while MPs from the far-right People’s Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) abstained from the vote.
Although Fico did not succeed, the ruling party Smer might collect signatures for another extraordinary session, Smer MP Dušan Jarjabek claimed, as reported by TASR.
An analysis required
During the session, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer) said he would welcome an analysis on this matter, focusing on the costs of the gold transfer back to Slovakia.
He added that moving the investment gold back is still under discussion and could be returned to the country “in due time”.
Opposition party SaS also demanded an analysis by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). Under this condition, the party was, in fact, willing to support Fico’s proposal, TASR wrote.
The debate on Slovakia’s investment gold is a relevant topic but expert-related in the first place, Viskupič claimed. He went on to say it would be irrational to adopt such a proposal without further discussion with experts.
The NBS informed the parliament in April that there are no risks in keeping Slovak gold in Britain.
