Minister of Finance Jutta Urpilainen (SDP) briefed the Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament on Wednesday on the negotiated support package to Greece. Finland’s share of the EUR 130 billion is to be EUR 2.3 billion.
“The programme and the debt rearrangements made with private investors create the possibilities for Greece’s survival. It depends on Greece whether or not the programme will be fully implemented.”
Urpilainen would not speculate on whether or not this support package would be the last one.
“In life nothing is as certain as uncertainty. Now we have created the conditions to cope and to make structural changes. Hopefully it will be enough. The starting point is that Greece will be able to return to the market in 2015. Whether or not this happens depends on Greece.”
Urpilainen also praised the loan collateral arrangement that Finland made with Greece, which covers the new loan programme’s EUR 2.3 billion.
“The arrangement is very good and historic From Finland’s point of view, because never before has any country received such collateral. The risk facing Finns is much smaller than that facing other euro countries.”
The government will present an official statement on the matter to Parliament - possibly already on Friday.
Finns Party MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, a member of the Grand Committee, said on Wednesday that the party would propose that the bailout package should be rejected.
He feels that the European stability mechanism and economic union should not be created, and that Greece should be allowed to go into bankruptcy.
Saarakkala also says that the government should be prepared for the possibility that the eurozone might break up.
As he sees it, it is childish to talk about the collateral negotiated by the government, because it will be paid to Finland in 15 years at the earliest.
Saarakkala also says that if the euro is still in existence at that time, there will also be a European federation in place with common responsibility.
