Brussels, 28/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The outgoing Portuguese prime minister, José Sócrates, said on Thursday 28 April 2011 that he was confident that Finland would back Portugal's request for international aid, saying he was not worried about Finland vetoing aid for Portugal in an interview with TSF. Every eurozone country has to give its agreement before the eurozone can provide financial aid to any of its members (see EUROPE 10366). Socrates called for the signing of a final agreement on financial aid and the multi-year austerity package accompanying it at the upcoming agreement of Eurogroup, in Brussels on Monday 16 May 2011.
On an official visit to Paris on 28 April, the chair of Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, said he hoped a solution would be found that would suit Finland, expecting that details would be decided upon in the next fortnight to enable Finland to make a constructive contribution to the Portuguese process, but recognising the existence of a 'Finnish problem.' The recent rise in the Eurosceptic 'True Finns' party in Finland may affect Finland's decision and stymie hopes that agreement will be reached on the Portuguese aid package.
The European Commission has denied reports in the financial media in Portugal that the talks between the Portuguese government and the representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will conclude at the end of this week. A spokesperson for EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said the news was not correct and the negotiations were still ongoing. A press conference will be organised in Lisbon as soon as agreement is reached on the technicalities (as was done for the Greek and Irish loans).
Sócrates said that the Portuguese government would do its utmost to reduce the negative impact of the deal on Portuguese society, but said that the country would regret the fact that the fourth batch of structural reforms had not been endorsed by the opposition (a vote of no-confidence that had forced the government out of office), because the rejected austerity package was a better deal than the strings attached to the aid package. The chair of the European Socialist Party, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Denmark), fears that the Commission, ECB and IMF will call for a removal of protection for workers and undermine collective bargaining, reports Portuguese press agency Lusa. (M.B./transl.fl)