BRUSSELS (MNI) – Ireland’s finance ministry Friday denied reports
that the country has begun talks to seek emergency funding from the
European Union.
“There’s no application from the finance ministry for emergency
funding and no talks for emergency EU funding,” a finance ministry
spokesperson said on Friday. “Ireland is fully funded until mid-2011.”
Irish sovereign debt spreads have widened sharply in recent weeks
as traders speculated that Ireland won’t be able to manage its debt
burden alone.
Earlier Friday Reuters news agency reported that the Irish
government had begun talks with EU officials about an aid deal.
The European Commission dismissed the report as “pure speculation”
and reiterated that it had not received a request for help from the
debt-ridden country.
Ireland’s government earlier this month outlined plans for E15
billion worth of budgetary savings over the next four years in a bid to
get its budget deficit below the EU’s 3% limit by 2014.
The budget deficit has widened to a stunning 32% of its GDP this
year, due to a costly bailout of the banking sector and
worse-than-expected growth. Stripping out the cost of recapitalizing the
banks, the deficit is expected to be around 11.9% this year, one of the
largest in the Eurozone.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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