The Slovenia Times

EU Supports Slovenia Economic Stabilisation Measures

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"I have felt not pressure. On the contrary, everyone knows that we have a fair bit of money on our accounts and are able to deal with our problems alone for know," Čufer said in Vilnius in response to an unofficial report by German newspaper Handelsblatt that the ECB is putting pressure on Slovenia to seek assistance from the eurozone's bailout fund.

The minister does not expect any special developments at today's unofficial meeting, saying he would present the situation in Slovenia, the decision to liquidate Probanka and Factor banka, and budget preparations for next year, he said.

Doorstep statements about a potential bailout were also given by Dijsselbloem and the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, Rehn, who said they were happy with Slovenia's measures in the banking sector.

Still, Dijsselbloem wants the government to hasten its step, while Rehn, who feels things are moving in the right direction, said that more needed to be done in the field of structural reforms, fiscal policy and for the final stage of the fixing of the banking system.

Dijsselbloem, who spoke of important progress in the banking sector, said that close cooperation with Slovenian authorities would continue in the coming months with a view towards cleaning up the banking system, which is the main priority.

He announced a visit to Slovenia for the autumn but could not confirm that this would happen on 30 September, which unofficial sources have been mentioning as the date of the visit.

Meanwhile, unofficial sources have indicated differences of opinion between the Slovenian government and the ECB concerning the methodology for the stress tests and asset reviews for 10 banks in Slovenia, especially with regard to the value of the bad claims to be transferred onto the bad bank.

Asked how the cooperation with the ECB is progressing, Čufer said that agreement had been reached on the methodology, procedure and time table and that "these reviews are running normally now".

The external review, which will be a basis for further action, is expected to be completed at the end of the month.

Journalists also quizzed German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble about Slovenia's situation, with Schäuble saying that Slovenia should be encouraged if it feels it can solve its problems alone and that it will be able to do so if it stays consistent on the path it says it wants to walk.

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