Slovakia will staunchly disagree with writing off part of Greece's nominal debt, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after a Government session on Tuesday. Fico noted that both eurozone and EU members at the recent summit in Brussels agreed that nothing will be written off from the Greek debt. "A question has appeared, mainly related to the International Monetary Fund's participation in the programme for Greece, [asking] whether at least part of the debt shouldn't be forgiven. Even if pressure emerges, Slovakia will refuse to write off [part of] the debt as a matter of principle - even at the cost of political difficulties that may emerge for us as a result", said Fico. According to Fico, Slovakia can serve as a model for many countries - for example, with its law on a debt brake. "We have this mechanism that I'd recommend to every country which seems to be unable to handle being in its own skin when it comes to debt", said Fico, adding that the debt brake begins emitting warning signals when a country's debt approaches 60 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, Slovakia's debt is well below this level. "Our debt has had a descending trajectory. We're adopting further measures to make sure that the debt continues dropping and it remains one of the lowest ones in both eurozone and the entire EU. We've made order in public finances, we're keeping the deficit below 3 percent of GDP, and we've a healthy banking sector", said Fico, adding that if Slovakia could have adopted such measures, other countries can too. "The Greeks have to do some difficult homework to be entitled to receive a further financial package. Nevertheless, if we notice that Greece is failing to meet its commitments and isn't doing this homework, Slovakia will be in the first line of countries demanding that Greece leaves the eurozone", said Fico, adding that countries with responsible budgetary policies, including Germany, also hold a principled attitude towards Greece. Meanwhile, irresponsible countries in terms of budgeting appear to be more lenient, as they know that they themselves might need help in the future, concluded the Slovak prime minister.
