Brussels, 19/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Spanish aid programme overcame the final hurdles on Thursday 19 July. On Friday 20 July eurozone finance ministers will then be able to approve the agreement in principle which they concluded on the Spanish memorandum.
The aid plan was put to the vote in the German parliament, meeting in extraordinary session on Thursday, and was passed by a comfortable majority. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaüble said during the debate that the Spanish government would remain liable for the financial aid granted to its banks. This was the bone of contention among German MPs. Yet Schaüble had tried to remove any doubt over possible approval of the direct recapitalisation of Spanish banks in the vote in the parliament. In an interview which appeared in the Rheinische Post on Wednesday morning, he stated that this would not be possible until the single banking supervisory authority was in place. Such a move would have to be agreed “unanimously” by EU decision-makers and approved beforehand by German MPs.
Earlier in the week, Finland concluded an agreement with Spain under the terms of which it will receive collateral in exchange for helping bail out Spanish banks.
On Tuesday 17 July, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said he was happy with the agreement, the aim of which is to limit risks for the Finnish taxpayer. A press release issued on Tuesday by the Finnish Finance Ministry says that the agreement is very similar to the one reached with Greece in October 2011 and that the collateral will cover 40% of Finland's contribution to the European rescue plan for the Spanish banks - €769.92 million.
The package was also put to the parliament for approval on Thursday and voting is due on Friday 20, shortly before the eurozone heads of state and government video-conference, during which they hope to conclude the Spanish memorandum. Katainen said he hoped that “the parliament approves the package so that Finland, for its part, may participate in efforts to stabilise the economy of Europe and Finland. This is the government's number one priority”. (EL/transl.rt)