Soros bets against Euro

[Magda Hassan]

Googlish translation from French

In Helsinki, rather out of the euro rather than pay the debts of others


latribune.fr (with branches) | 06.07.2012, 12:04 - 251 words
Defending a "hard line" within the euro area, Helsinki shows his reluctance vis-à-vis support for countries most in need. A position that the Finnish Minister of Finance, Jutta Urpilanen translated into hard term: it prefers to see the country out of the euro rather than pay for the debt of its European partners.
Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen - Copyright Reuters


"Finland does not cling to the euro at any price and we are ready for all scenarios, including abandon the single European currency". The affirmation of the Finnish Minister of Finance, Jutta Urpilainen, transcribed this Friday in the business daily Kauppalehti clearly announces the color. If it finds that "the euro is beneficial for Finland", the Minister considers that his country did not support the "collective responsibility for the debts" nor the "risks of other countries".
Helsinki has declared its refusal to any redemption of government securities on the secondary market via the European Stability Mechanism, which was nonetheless one of the main achievements of the European Summit held in Brussels in late June. In another interview, published Thursday, Jutta Urpilainen defended the Finnish position that represents the "hard line" in Europe. "We are constructive and we want to solve the crisis, but not in any condition," she said.
Bilateral agreements
Already last year, the Finnish government had obtained a bilateral agreement with Greece when a second aid plan had been decided. After this treaty, Athens ensured the country to repay the sums advanced. Other similar agreements are under discussion with Spain in exchange for assistance to banks Iberian.
Finally, among other objects of distrust: the Tobin tax. The government objected in February to the tax on financial transactions in which members of the Eurozone finally agreed in late June, but has yet to be ratified in each country.