Kenny in bid to change bailout
Mr Kenny said he hopes to get a private word with the German leader at the fringes of a European Peoples Party (EPP) meeting in Helsinki.
“I’ll certainly get a few minutes,” he said yesterday ahead of his travels to the Finnish capital where he will press for a reduction in 5.8% interest rate paid on the European share of Ireland’s €85 billion EU/IMF bailout.
Ms Merkel has dug her heels in, saying an interest rate cut might be considered if Ireland is having difficulties with it. But she insisted it would have to reflect the costs other countries are paying to re-finance themselves on the private markets.
Asked about her comments yesterday, Mr Kenny said: “We’ve made our points very clear to President Barroso and the chancellor.”
While he was confident of a private meeting with Mr Merkel, German sources believe this is unlikely because of tight schedules.
“In Helsinki there is very little time for any bilateral meeting. So it is not certain that a meeting with Kenny will be possible,” a source told Reuters news agency.
The Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, will travel to the Greek capital of Athens today for the meeting of leaders of the Party of European Socialists which includes leaders of Greece, Spain and Portugal.
Mr Gilmore will brief his colleagues on the progress of negotiations between his party and Fine Gael on the formation of the next Government.
He will also stress the need to renegotiate the EU’s €40bn share of the bailout and update them on the election results and economic situation in Ireland.
Mr Gilmore is scheduled to arrive back in Dublin on Saturday afternoon ahead of a possible meeting of his party delegates to vote on the Programme for Government agreement on Sunday.
