Slovakia blocks Euro Zone bailout fund
In Europe, political parties in Slovakia are figuring out their next step a day after the Parliament there dramatically rejected plans to expand the European Union bailout fund. Slovakia is the last euro zone state to vote on ratifying the expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). The E.U.’s plan is to expand the fund’s effective lending capacity to â?¬440 billion, roughly $600 billion, as well as empowering it to buy eurozone government debt and offer credit lines to member states and to banks. Top E.U. officials have today been urging the country to ratify the bill swiftly – and a new vote on the fund is likely by the end of this week. Matthew Price of the BBC has the latest on the story from Brussels.
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