BRUSSELS (MNI) – Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said Monday
he looked forward discussing with European colleagues a possible
reduction in the interest rates applied to financial assistance approved
for fiscally troubled Ireland in November.

“The whole question of the European Stability Funds is under
discussion this evening,” Lenihan told reporters on arrival for the
meeting of Eurozone finance ministers here.

“The interest rate set for Ireland under these Funds was set some
time ago,” he reminded. “I’m glad to say we’re beginning a discussion
this evening about how those interest rates can be improved. I’m very
anxious to participate in that discussion, as you can appreciate.”

“I’m glad to welcome the fact the discussion is beginning on the
Facility, on the scope of the Facility, the size of the Facility and the
appropriate rate for the Facility,” he said. “I think everyone in
Ireland must appreciate that these matters are determined by all of the
member states; they’re not determined in bilateral negotiations.”

Suggestions by some opposition Irish politicians that they can
renegotiate these arrangements may neglect the fact that “these
arrangements can only be changed by hard, unrelenting work here with all
of the member states,” Lenihan emphasized.

Asked for his view of the size and scope of the Fund, Lenihan noted
that “a number of options have been canvassed in the different papers
there, and again, we must ensure that the Fund has credibility as a
mechanism that stands behind all of the European sovereigns.”

Lenihan declined to be drawn out on the significance for Ireland of
a reduction in the interest rate accorded the country, saying that “this
is slow, incremental work.”

Arrangements with Europe “are pre-set, they’re pre-determined,” he
said. “They’re not something that was negotiated by the government.”

“But clearly in the context of international discussions with our
European partners, my intention is to ensure that Ireland gets a better
deal, and this is the only way it can be done,” he said. “It can’t be
done by unilateral declarations from Dublin. It requires constant,
unremitting work here in Brussels to do that.”

Discussions on the size and scope of the Facility would probably
not reach a conclusion today, he said.

–Frankfurt bureau tel.: +49-69 720142. Email: dbarwick@marketnews.com

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