Finland : to exit euro than pay for others’ debts

Finland would rather leave the eurozone than pay down the debt of other countries in the currency bloc, Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen said in a newspaper interview yesterday. “Finland is committed to being a member of the eurozone, and we think that the euro is useful for Finland,” Urpilainen told financial daily Kauppalehti, adding though that “Finland will not hang itself to the euro at any cost and we are prepared for all scenarios.” “Collective responsibility for other countries’ debt, economics and risks; this is not what we should be prepared for,” she added. Urpilainen’s spokesman Matti Hirvola stressed that the minister’s comments did not mean Finland was planning to exit the eurozone. “All claims that Finland would leave the euro are simply false,” he said. In her interview with Kauppalehti, the finance minister meanwhile insisted that Finland, one of only a few EU countries to still enjoy a triple-A credit rating, would not agree to an integration model in which countries are collectively responsible for member states’ debts and risks. She also insisted that a proposed banking union would not work if it was based on joint liability. Urpilainen also acknowledged in an interview with the Helsingin Sanomat daily on Thursday that Finland “represents a tough line” when it comes to the eurozone bailouts. “We are constructive and want to solve the crisis, but not on any terms,” she said. from gulf times.