Giving up certain national powers in the economic and monetary fields in favour of the EU is a matter on which Slovak citizens would have to decide in a referendum, said Prime Minister Iveta Radičová at a conference entitled 'The EU after the Lisbon Treaty and during a crisis' in Bratislava on November 25.
Radičová's statement came in reaction to possible future changes to the European Union founding documents; changes that could stave off another eurozone debt crisis by ensuring compliance with budgetary regulations and improving administration of the eurozone, the TASR newswire reported.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who view changes to the Lisbon Treaty as a solution to the eurozone debt crisis, are set to announce the proposed alterations within the next few days.
According to Radičová, Slovakia will back EU proposals leading to the strengthening of budgetary discipline as well as the introduction of sanctions for countries that attempt to dodge regulations. "This is also the key point of the constitutional act on budgetary responsibility, which has already been approved by the parliamentary budgetary committee, she added as reported by TASR.
European Commission Vice-president Maroš Šefčovič commented that as the debt crisis concerns the whole of Europe, blanket measures will be needed to be implemented in order to fight it.
"There is consensus that compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact should be tighter and that a control and sanctions system should be applied thoroughly," he said.
