Slovak parties agree EU fund deal

Slovakia’s main political parties have reached a deal to approve changes to an EU bailout fund, the main opposition leader said today, just one day after parliament rejected the proposal, causing the government to fall.

Robert Fico, head of Smer-Social Democracy, said that in exchange for his party’s votes, three outgoing government party leaders have agreed to hold early general elections on March 10.

“Slovakia will ratify the EU bailout fund without any problems. I believe it will happen on Friday this week at the latest,” Mr Fico said.

Yesterday’s vote failed because a junior coalition party, the Freedom and Solidarity party, was against it. In a desperate effort to force that party to vote in favour, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova had tied the vote on the bailout fund to a confidence vote in the government. When the vote failed, her one-year-old government collapsed.

With the government now defunct – and with the promise of early elections – Mr Fico said his party will vote in favour of the bailout fund, which all 16 other members of the eurozone have already supported.

The leaders of three coalition parties confirmed the deal later.

The announcement came hours after EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on Slovak political parties “to rise above the positioning of short-term politics, and seize the next occasion to ensure a swift adoption of the new agreement”.

They said the enhancement of the European Financial Stability Facility is crucial “to preserve financial stability in the euro area. And that is in the interest of all euro countries, including the Slovak people.”

Eurozone leaders had agreed in July to increase the size and powers of the bailout fund, giving it the ability to lend quickly to governments in case of market trouble in order to contain the stubborn financial crisis.