George Herald | Finnish parliament approves Spanish bank bailout

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Finnish parliament approves Spanish bank bailout
10:26 (GMT+2), Fri, 20 July 2012

INTERNATIONAL NEWS - After a heated debate, Finland's parliament on Friday approved a European aid package for ailing Spanish banks, as well as a deal for collateral from Spain in exchange for Helsinki's participation.

Finland's participation in the EU's 100-billion-euro ($122-billion) Spanish bank rescue passed with 109 members of Finland's 200-seat house voting in favour, 73 opposing and the remainder absent.

The Finnish parliament also approved a controversial deal reached with Spain on Tuesday in which Madrid agreed to provide collateral to Finland in exchange for its support for the bailout aimed to prevent the entire Spanish economy from being dragged deeper into the mire.

Finland's share of the bailout amounts to about 1.9 billion euros, with collateral put at 763 million euros which will be paid in cash progressively.

Parliament met Thursday for the first time during a summer break since 1962 for a heated debate, with the only two parliamentary parties in opposition demanding a no-confidence vote against the government over the collateral deal.

But on Friday, the parliament, where Conservative Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen's broad coalition government enjoys a solid majority, rejected the no-confidence vote.

Source : Sapa