Greek crisis: Luxembourg will not follow Finnish example

(ADW) Luxembourg will not follow Finland’s suggestion that Greek assets should be transferred to a Luxembourg based agency, nor that the country should enter into other bilateral agreements, announced Luc Frieden, Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. The Grand Duchy rejects the logic of the Nordic country which has linked its financial aid program to Greece and the guarantees that Athens must provide.

The Nordic country (like Luxembourg with a AAA rating from all ratings agencies) recently signed an agreement with Greece to guarantee the repayment of the Finnish contribution to the international loan of 158.6 billion euros promised in July to Greece.

Luxembourg opposed such bilateral agreements

"Like the vast majority of Member States, Luxembourg considers that the provision of bilateral guarantees to cover the risk resulting from participation in the EFSF (European Financial Stability Fund) is not a possibility and Luxembourg has stated its opposition to such agreements in the discussions regarding sovereign debt crisis in Europe," stated both Luxembourg ministers.

This is "not compatible with the principle of equal treatment of member states"

Juncker and Frieden added that such bilateral safeguards pose a "political problem" and agreements "not compatible with the principle of equal treatment of all Member States."

Finland, after the surge in euro-scepticism at the last elections in April, had planned for such an agreements regarding its participation in the programme of financial assistance to Greece. A path that Luxembourg will not follow as other AAA countries are rumoured to be courting with the idea of bilateral agreements.