Austria's Parliament approved the eurozone's new mechanism to combat the debt crisis despite opposition from far-right parties who have slammed the accord as a power grab by Brussels.
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was approved by a two-thirds majority, with support from the ruling Social Democrats and conservatives, as well as the opposition Greens. Ahead of the vote, Chancellor Werner Faymann had urged deputies to look past party allegiance and support the measures. “Only if we protect the European Union together can we best protect Austria”, he told deputies.
Finance Minister Maria Fekter described the ESM as “necessary”, comparing it to “a highly modern fire department that will prevent local fires from turning into Europe-wide blazes” in the future. “I can’t imagine why one would be against such sensible measures”, she said. But far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, condemned the measures as an “empowering law” handing Austrian sovereignty over to Brussels. The result of July 4’s decision will be “the absorption of Austria into a centralising EU federal state, dominated by a financial dictatorship”, he told deputies, attacking them for taking decisions over the heads of taxpayers. Austria’s participation in the fund will amount to €19.5 billion.
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© Hürriyet Daily News (Turkey)
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