EUROZONE-GREECE/ESTONIA VOTE Estonian parliament approves Greek bailout plan

Record ID: 143518

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/ESTONIA VOTE Estonian parliament approves Greek bailout plan
  • Date: 18th August 2015
  • Summary: TALLINN, ESTONIA (AUGUST 18, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ESTONIAN PARLIAMENT PLAQUE READING (English): "PARLIAMENT OF ESTONIA" PARLIAMENT SESSION BEGINNING SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, EIKI NESTOR, TALKING ESTONIAN FINANCE MINISTER, SVEN SESTER, SEATED DURING SESSION SESTER WALKING TO PODIUM MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT LISTENING TO SESTER'S SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Estonian) ESTONIAN MINIS
  • Embargoed: 2nd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Estonia
  • Country: Estonia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3FWNA7OMO2WSA1CVAEL8JRQ3W
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: On Tuesday (August 18), the Estonian parliament passed a motion approving the Greek bailout package at an extraordinary session.
    Despite the objections of the opposition, 50 of the 101 members of parliament supported the 86-billion-euro bailout plan, 37 members voting against it.
    Estonian Minister of Finance Sven Sester said that with this consent, the state has no additional financial obligations.
    "Yes, the burden is huge, but the conditions of the loans are already favourable, which means that the debt servicing is hard, but not extraordinary in the international sense. So it is doable, if the plan is followed. Possible mitigations are being weighed, but writing off the nominal debt is out of the question. Estonia has said: we do not agree with writing the debt off, in whole or in parts. There have been questions on whether the loan means new obligations for Estonia. No. The loan given to Greece from the [European Stability Mechanism] ESM does not increase our burden. Estonia does not have to pay anything in addition. And we do not have to give any new guarantees," Sester said.
    Meanwhile, all the opposition parties voted against the bailout.
    Head of the centre party faction, Kadri Simson, said that opposition politicians doubt whether Greece will be able to reorganise its economy and return its debts to the lenders -- meaning that Estonian taxpayers might later have to pay for the Greek mistakes.
    "Our main concern is that if we are guaranteeing Greece loans, then one day we'll have to, well, pay for them. And this is, well, too big a threat for our own state budget," she said.
    Government representatives indicated that there should be no debt write-off for Greece. The bailout is granted on strict conditions and Greece must comply with the reform plan.
    Estonia is one of the few European countries for which its consent to the transaction with Greece had to be approved by the parliament.
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