Ease on Greece's Debt Would Cost Slovenia EUR 20-30M
The minister, who is attending the meeting of eurozone finance ministers, pointed out that the measures to secure sustainability of Greece's debt are not confirmed yet.
Eurozone ministers will first wait for the outcome of the buy-back programme, which was launched today and which the European Commission expects to be completed in five days.
Asked what Slovenia's contribution would be in that case, the minister estimated it at roughly EUR 20m or 30m, depending on the details of the measures. "This is not a large sum, but it is certainly a contribution to the efforts to maintain stability in the eurozone," Šušteršič said.
If an interest rate cut or an extension of loans' maturity is endorsed in the end, Slovenia will need to amend the corresponding law and the legislative change would have to be approved by the National Assembly.
The minister also commented on Friday's decision by the rating agency Moody's to cut the triple-A rating of the European Stability Mechanism rescue fund by one notch after its earlier downgrade of France as a key ESM backer. He said the decision meant no extra obligations for Slovenia for now.
Šušteršič allowed the possibility that Slovenia would come up at the meeting of eurozone ministers today or EU finance ministers tomorrow as they discuss the European Commission's economic imbalances report, which identifies Slovenia among problematic countries that need further examination.
"There may be a wish to say something specifically about Slovenia. If there is such a wish, we'll do that," said Šušteršič.
In that case the minister would explain the developments related to the budget and planned referenda in particular against the law that would establish a bad bank. He would also notify his counterparts on the expected adoption of pension reform in parliament on Tuesday.