Ireland Economy, Banking, NAMA, ESM, EU, Department of Finance
Ireland should not get
retrospective bank deal, warns German politician
Ireland should not get a
retrospective recapitalisation of its bank debt, one of Germany’s most influential
politicians has said:
“The ESM is an instrument
for the future” said Dr Joachim Pfeiffer, economic policy spokesman for Angela
Merkel’s Christian Democrats party.
“Ireland has to solve this
on its own like Greece, Portugal, Spain and Germany” he said. “I don’t see it
as a moral obligation”.
Mr Pfeiffer said that the
success of NAMA at selling off the assets under its control points to the
country’s ability to clear its debts itself.
He added that the extension
of EU loans and the promissory note deal have already helped Ireland to reduce
its debt burden.
Mr Pfeiffer was speaking on
a brief visit to Dublin, after meetings with Taoiseach Enda Kenny and senior
NAMA officials as well as Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher.
His comments pour cold water
on hopes for a deal on Ireland’s legacy bank debt, stemming from the
government’s decision to pump billions into AIB and Bank of Ireland at the
height of the crisis.
The Department of Finance
has repeatedly stated that such a deal is not off the table.
