Slovak parliamentary opposition parties want to postpone a parliamentary vote on ratification of the European Stability Mechanism Treaty establishing the EU's permanent rescue funding program. This issue is already on the agenda of the upcoming session of parliament that begins on June 19, the SITA newswire wrote.
At a meeting of heads of parliamentary caucuses on June 13, representatives the opposition parties asked Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška (Smer) to postpone the vote on ratification so that the Slovak parliament votes on it only after it will be dealt with by the German Bundestag. At the meeting of the parliamentary leaders, the opposition request was turned down so they now hope to discuss it on June 14 with Prime Minister Robert Fico.
"The chairmen of all the opposition caucuses asked for the postponement. The Speaker of Parliament informed us of his position – he insists that the international treaty should be ratified at this session of parliament," said Pavol Hrušovský from the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), adding that the opposition will seek to discuss the issue with PM Fico on June 14, a meeting primarily planned to talk about alternative proposals to consolidate public finances.
"This request originated from the fact that we are facing an election in Greece and also waiting for ratification of the ESM in Germany, which is scheduled for late June or early July," said Juraj Miškov, the head of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) caucus, adding that this is a very serious matter in which Slovakia enters into an obligation from which there is no way out and the country should be extremely cautious in view of what is now happening in Europe.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
