BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Commission doesn’t know how long a
team of experts from the International Monetary Fund, European
Commission and European Central Bank will take to assess the situation
of Ireland’s banks and a possible aid package, a spokesman said on
Thursday.
Speaking at the regular media briefing, the spokesperson said
“there is nothing to confirm or announce” with respect to a potential
extraordinary meeting of finance ministers in Brussels on Sunday.
“We are just focusing on the preparatory work in Dublin in order to
be ready if there is a request [for aid]…which is not the case today,”
a spokesman for economic and monetary affairs said.
Some media outlets have speculated that Europe’s finance ministers
could hold a special meeting this Sunday in Brussels, which is what
happened when Greece negotiated an aid deal earlier this year.
Ireland begins talks in Dublin later today with technical experts
from the IMF, ECB and EU. Ireland’s central bank governor, Patrick
Honohan, said in a radio interview today that the goal was to negotiate
the terms of an aid deal that would be worth tens of billions.
Ireland’s government has said it is planning E15 billion of cuts
over the next 4 years to bring its deficit back below the EU’s 3% limit,
but the market doesn’t believe it will be able to cut its debt burden
without external help.
Slower than expected growth and the cost of bailing out the banking
system will push Ireland’s budget deficit to 32% of its GDP this year.
The Irish government has committed to getting the deficit below the EU’s
3% limit by 2014. Stripping out the banks, the deficit will be around
11.9% this year, still one of the largest in the Eurozone.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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