FRANKFURT (MNI) – The point has been reached where decisions need
to be taken as to whether Ireland will ask for aid from the EU/ECB/IMF,
but the decision cannot be rushed, Greek Finance Minister George
Papaconstantinou said Friday.
One is “now at a position where decisions have to be taken, where
the Irish government is discussing” with the so-called troika “to see
what kind of help is necessary and on the basis of those discussions to
decide whether to ask for aid or not,” the minister said at the European
Banking Congress here.
While “time is of the essence,” the process should not be rushed,
he said.
“Every country has its own characteristics, and Ireland is
different from other countries,” Papaconstantinou explained. “The Irish
government has taken courageous and difficult decisions.”
The Irish government does not have a problem with financing, but
rather the problem is in the country’s banking sector, he noted.
There is “absolutely” no question that a bank should be able to
fail, the minister said later on the panel.
He said he had “no doubt” that the European monetary union “will
survive.”
–Frankfurt bureau, +49-69-720142, tbuell@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$$CR$,MGX$$$]
