Malta to cough up €260 million for EU-IMF fund loans

Malta’s contribution is €260 million to IMF eurozone bailout fund. UK will not contribute to fund.

UK prime minister David Cameron (with Lawrence Gonzi to his right) is not contributing to the IMF bailout fund for the eurozone.
UK prime minister David Cameron (with Lawrence Gonzi to his right) is not contributing to the IMF bailout fund for the eurozone.

Malta is to contribute €260 million in a loan to the International Monetary Fund, as the United Kingdom decided Monday not to contribute any more money for a eurozone bailout fund, leaving the European Union short of its €200 billion target.

Eurozone countries on Monday agreed to pay €150 billion to the fund, after a three-hour long conference organised by Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's Prime Minister and head of the informal group of eurozone finance ministers.

Britain refused to contribute to this special fund to be set up for the eurozone rescue, saying it will top up its share to the general IMF reserves. "The UK has always been willing to consider further resources for the IMF, but for its global role and as part of a global agreement," British finance minister George Osborne said in a statement.

Germany will be the largest contributor, with €41.5 billion, followed by France (€31.4bn), Spain (€14.8bn) and the Netherlands (€13.6bn). The Czech Republic has said it would contribute €3.5 billion, Denmark pledged to contribute €5.5bn, while Polish finance minister Jacek Rostowski on Monday gave the figure of €6bn for his country. Sweden may contribute some €11 billion, Svenska Dagebladet reports.

The EU member states under the EU-IMF bail-out - Greece, Ireland and Portugal - are not listed as contributors.

Even IMF-supported EU countries who are not eurozone members - Hungary, Romania and Latvia - will not be contributing to the fund, as well as Lithuania and Bulgaria.

While EU leaders agreed at their last summit on the desire to boost IMF resources, there are doubts about whether the scheme will work, with not just London and Washington unenthusiastic, but Germany's Bundesbank too. "Washington cannot make bilateral loans available to the IMF without Congress approving it," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told German radio. "There's no chance of that and the US government has always made that clear."

The increase in IMF resources is part of a strategy to strengthen the eurozone's fire-fighting capability and build better defences for the future.

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I am British and want to buy an apartment in Malta in the next 3 years because we love the Island. I have a wife who I can assure you will contribute very positively to the National Euro debt as she is a great spender. Hope to see you friendly people around!
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DAWK LI JITKELMU BIL-HALQ TA' GONZIPN IMMA TAPARSI JICHDU LI HUMA NAZZJONALISTI KOLLHA BRAVI HAFNA F'EKONOMIJA U JIFHMU AKTAR MIN HADDIEHOR. U KOLLHA SHAHAR GHAX JAFU EZATT KIF KONNA NKUNU KIEKU MA ISSEHIBNIEX FL-EU U FIL-EUROZONE. MELA SEWWA, KIEKU MA SSEHIBNIEX, SKOND DAWN L-GHORRIEF, KONNA MMORRU L-BAHAR. U ISSA LI ISSEHIBNA U QEGHDIN FIL-HAMA MA JIMPORTAX. ARA X'RAGUNAMENT STUPIDU DAN. GHAX TAGHHOM IL-HMIEG IFUH UKOLL! U DEJJEM HUMA GHANDHOM RAGUN GHAX DAWN TWIELDU B'ZEWG IMHUH ALLA JBIEREK. AHJAR JARAW KIF IMLEMNA TILJA DEJN U KORRUZZJONI QABEL MA JKOMPLU IDAHQU IN-NIES BIEHOM, ALLAVOLJA DAWN L-AQNQAS ZEJT F'WICCHOM MA BAQALHOM BIEX JISTHU. VERA ARROGANTI.
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@marks(ist) You have the nerve to talk about attitude!! I DO NOT need you to tell me what to read, newspapers are hardly reliable sources to do by, at least academically. You know very well that they all have an agenda. Cameron was elected by the British people not by the newspaper magnates. Perhaps national interest is not in the vocabulary of europhiles, they prefer to be kicked around by the european bullies such as France and Germany.
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@BertuDimech Well I've invited you to take a look at the Guardian and the Independent at least two times but you refuse to... what can i tell you? prosit???? there is an article on the Guardian which explains brilliantly British Euroscepticism and it has nothing to do with national interest. This article was also heavily critical of David Cameron's EU Policy. However I have to say that despite the fact that the Tories are very eurosceptical, Cameron has realised that going out of the EU is not an option. Secondly Tobin tax is meant to hinder or stymie financial speculation, so yes it would have in part prevented the crisis. For arguments regarding EU wide corporate taxation, I invite you to have a look at Euractiv, Repubblica, The Economist or some other reputable publication......@Joexerri learn how to bloody read before passing comments I am not nationalist....... but it 's useless explaining this people whose tiny world revolves around PL and PN
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@marks. You got it wrong again, oh dear!! I was just waiting for your wisdom on who or not Mintoff was. If Britian is no model, who is? Greece, Portugal, Italy perhaps. I'm not fond of the British (is that in the Mintoffian DNA?), but they know what national interest is! Do you seriously think that having a corporate tax would have prevented this crisis?
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@ Marks Int jew ma ghandekx x'tghamel f'hajtek, inkella tahdem mal PN, jew ghandek xi job mahluq ghall blue eyed boys u flok tahdem tqattahha fuq l- internet, tghaddi iz-zmien tiddefendi lill gonzlipn fuq il- blogs. LOL.
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Maltin u Għawdxin, morru araw l-aħħar aħbarijiet tad-diżastru tal-Ewro li ssibuhom biss fuq il-media internazzjoniali u ma juruhomx fuq il-media lokali. ** http://www.eupettydictators.webs.com/ ** L-aħħar aħbarijeit issibuhom fuq links 4 ** http://eupettydictators.webs.com/links4.htm
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@ Onthelookout, I am not nationalist and I have never voted PN. You should also note that the person who suggested taxing spot currency conversion is a top notch economist. Barroso himself suggested the Tobin tax so it seems that despite my "petty knowledge of the international financial mechanisms", I'm in good company... Apart from the fact that you did not illustrate your "politico economic" reasoning... what are you suggesting going back to bulk buying? to importing only from country who import from us.... By the as an aside Island has reactivated its EU Membership bid @Roger1 regarding Mintoff, I admit that he was instrumental in the setting up of our welfare state but his foreign policy was a total fiasco: befriending Ghaddafi, China, North Korea and the other pariah states is not a sound Foreign Policy... Outside the EU Malta would become a Third World country ... again... and by the way Mintoff also means the controversial 80s (and I stop there)By the way who mentioned Divorce??? I voted yes... but I suppose that your mintoffian reasoning makes you assume that I voted no because I am nationalist and that I am nationalist because I criticise labour ...
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ĦUTI MALTIN U GĦAWDXIN, QED TARAW X’DIŻASTRU ĠABITILNA S-SĦUBIJA FL-UE. ** TAFU LI S-CNI DEJJEM QALET IL-VERITÀ U LI DAK LI QALET KOLLU SEĦĦ. ** L-UNIKA TRIQ BIEX INSALVAW LILNA NFUSNA U LIL PAJJIŻNA HIJA LI NITILQU MILL-UE. ** IDĦLU MEMBRI FIS-CNI U JEKK HEMM BŻONN NAGĦMLU PARTIT ĠDID LI JKOLLU L-GĦAN LI NITILQU MILL-ĦAKMA DITTATORJALI KOLONJALI TAL-UE U NERĠGĦU NKUNU ĦIELSA KIF KONNA QABEL. ** DIN HIJA L-PAĠNA TAS-CNI http://www.cnimalta.org/
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Roger1 kulltant aħjar taqbes f'baħar imqalleb milli tibqa fuq dgħajsa qed tegħreq bħal ma kien it-Titanic. ** marks taf min huma sub-literate? Dawk il-lagħaqa tal-barrani li għandhom ilsien itwal minn Malta sa Brussels biex jilgħaqu lill-barrani u jibżgħu jkunu waħidhom jekk ma jkollhomx lil xi mamma tmexxihom. ** Mintoff kien l-uniku MAlta bil-ħaswejn li keċċa lill-Ingliżi, ġab il-miljuni kbar minn pajjiżi barranin, neħħa l-faqar minn Malta, daħħal l-edukazzjoni B'XEJN għal kulħadd, għamel is-servizz tas-saħħa B'XEJN għax fi żmienkom kien bil-ħlas, neħħa l-bażi militari minn Malta, ta l-paga lin-nisa daqs l-irġiel, tahom il-maternity leave, ta' s-sick leave u leave lil kulħadd, ta' l-pensjoni lil kulħadd, ta' l-vot mat-18-il sena u ħafna affarijiet oħra fost ġid kbir lill-poplu Malti. ** Are inthom tal-PN DEJJEM IVVUTAJTU KONTRA TAGĦHOM DAWN L_AFFARIJIET. ** Dak li għandkom tgħidulhom liż-żgħażagħ. Jekk ma tibżgħux u taħsbu li l-maġġoranza assoluta hija favur l-UE fittxu għamlu REFERENDUM, imma inthom u l-UE CHICKENS għax tibżgħu li jiġrilkom bħal ma ġara fi-Referendum tad-divorzju. Nerġà ngħidlek. Jekk ma tibżgħux għamlu REFERENDUM.
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@marks...your petty knowledge of the international financial mechanisms and your way of politico-economical reasoning makes your inflated ego and pathetic superiority complex depict you for what you really are, a penny-a-dozen GonziPN Nationalist apologist and lackey.
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DAN IL GARRRR KOLLU GHALFEJN ? Itfa hemm, zied id dejn Gonz...Issa jitilaw tal Lejber u jghoqodu jissikaw ic contorin u il GAHAN MALTI jibqa kwiet daqs baqqa. Issa id dejn mhux ulied uliedna ser ihallsuh, imma ulied, ta l-ulied ta l-ulied uliedna, u nahseb li ghanke ir raba generazzjoni Maltija. Immagimaw li kull min huwa haj illum ghanke it trabi li ghadhom kif twieldu, l-anqas inkunu mal hajjin sabiex inhallsu id dejn li qeghedin nghamlu illum.
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@ bertudimech: "Mintoffian" is an attitude so you don't to know who Dom Mintoff was to have a Mintoffian attitude and unfortunately, despite your young age you do. Yes I (being a staunch progressive)am definitely in favour of an EU wide corporate tax, Joseph Muscat is not, which is why I said that he does not want to regulate the people who are responsible for the crisis (the bankers). The solution is actually a stronger EU not the contrary. Regarding your question, I told you that the UK is hardly the model to follow. David Cameron's policies vis-a-vis the EU rEek of populism and this has been stated by the progressive papers (guardian and independent) but I did not expect a mintoffian to go that far! To the others our economic woes are mostly related to internal problems and have nothing to do with the EUm
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@ marks. I am flattered by your sound economic expertise! You can only ASSUME how our economy would have been hit had we been out of the euro zone or th EU. But we KNOW what it is like to be in. What we KNOW we do not like unless someone who is a PN lickass like you. As usual with any PN supporter, you think you have a right to decide how others think or feel and is ready to insult them if they do not agree with you. Now explain to us Mr. Wise Guy....How are we going to get out of this mess! But perhaps you are one of the 'KOMDI' abd do not give a shit about the sufferings of others.
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Wara li nixtieq nawgura lil kulhadd il-Milied u s-Sena t-tajba Specjalment lil Ecc Tieghu Dr Edward Fenech Adami u lil Hon Prim Ministru Dr Lawrence Gonzi talli dahlulna wiehed meta grejna wara t-trejn u ma bqajniex fil-friza biex idahluna fl-Klabb ta’ l-EU ghas-shana w l-iehor fiz-Zona Ewro biex ma nibqghux bil-flus taghna u jibqa imsemmi fl-istorja makabra tal-Zona ewro, w tghidx kemm ftahru w ikkundanaw lil Mintoff, lil Alfred Sant u Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. Issa qeghdin taraw f’liema Club dahhaltuna, fejn inthom weghdtuna kemm sejrin inkun ahjar, kif sejrin jirduppjaw il-pagi , il-progress, gid, kemm gejjin miljuni fuq miljuni, u kif dan il-pajjiz ha jkun fis-seba sema (Fejn jghidu li hemm San Pawl Missierna). Il genna ta’ l-art imwieghda ghadna ma rajnix imma minflokk sibna ruhna fl-infern tad-dinja bil-pagi l-anqas fl-EU u bil-hajja l-aktar gholja fl-EU . Wara din il-mizerja li gibtuna fiha issa rridu nohorgu aktar u aktar flus, meta l-Ingilterra, l-Irlanda, Grecja u l-Portugal li qeghdin ukoll fil-EU club ma huma se johorgu XEJN. Jekk dawn il-pajjizi ghandhom problemi, Malta ghandha problemi KBAR ukoll, djun, deficit u issa smajna wkoll li hafna mid-deheb li kella Malta 95% inbiegh kif inbieghu wkoll l-assi li kellu dan il-pajjiz. Dan il-klabb fejn suppost kulhadd indaqs, u kulhadd jigbed habel wiehed. Wasal iz-zmien li titolbu MAHFRA lil poplu Malti kollu u taraw kif dan id-dizastru li gibtu fuq pajjizna tirrangawh. Ma nafx kif ma tisthux turu wicckom quddiem dan il-poplu habriki u bizel
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@ZERO marks Zero for the wrong assumption!! I barely remember Dom, I'm much younger than you think. I don't need you to tell me what and what not to read. Whoever mentioned tax? Who would be so foolish to agree with an EU wide tax? You have not, because you cannot, answered my question! So, you deserve a BIG F!!!
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@ BertuDimech: see what I care about the marks given to me by a Mintoffian! I advise you to read Joseph Muscat's reaction to the agreement between the 26 Member States, he expressed himself clearly against the tobin tax and against an eu wide corporate tax. Regarding the failure of the euro, we would have been involved just as much if we were outside the eurozone remeber that the lira was pegged to the euro. @still worried you don't understand how the EU works, there is no such thing as "imposed by Brussels"... It is ironic that most of you "old labour" sympathisers are starting to sound more like Tories than progressives. Also to note the UK government's EU policy is fuelled by populisim. If the supposed progressives commenting this post take the time to read The Guardian and The Independent, they'd uderstand this. But this is expecting too much out of a bunch of whining Mintoffians!
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Why do we need a goverment when all our laws are made in BRUSSELS.And the people dont have a say.
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A point of interest. Malta will have to borrow 260mil at commercial rates to give(?) to the IMF; Is there any interest payable in return, or is it yet another loading on us, the taxpayers?
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@Marks. And everyone knows, including the die hard Nationalists, probably you included, that the best years of Nationalist Government were the first 5 years, when the PN inherited an sound economy from the MLP government. At that time we were out of the EU, we had no 'indhil barrani' and a 'Helsien fable', as you quoted.
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@ Zunzan keep your cool, no need to call people names. The europhiles are having a raw deal, not even Simon Busuttil has the guts to stick out his european neck in the face of this epic euro failure.
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The Goverment euphoria was not matched by the mood on the street. People said the deal would doom them to ever greater recession.
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@ marks Go on teach us Mr.Dick Head!! You seem to be a well educated chap! Viva l-Ewropa!! Viva l-Ewro!!
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Paul Sammut
Oh Yes. The PN will promise to reduce utility bills and then increase them again 'bil- qalb'eighteen months later . We all have seen the PN using this drty tactic before. We have to remember that for GonziPN, Yes means NO.
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@marks ZERO marks for arrogance and rudeness. The 'low' educated and 'sub-literate' are the result of the supposedly brilliant education system we have after 25 years of PN rule. Fr Peter gave a first class certificate to education last weekend. Who told you that Labour does not want to regulate bankers? Was this on the daily comic n-Nazzjon by any chance? Can you please explain to us ignorant, block heads why the UK will not be contributing a single euro? They are still an EU state, aren't they? Were are all those who heaped praise on to the euro? Even its creator is sceptical about its ultimate fate.
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Bhas soltu flus ghal barranin insibu imma ghal-maltin le. 1.16.
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Bhas soltu flus ghal barranin insibu imma ghal-maltin le. 1.16.
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Bhas soltu flus ghal barranin insibu imma ghal-maltin le. 1.16.
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@ sloot- your idiotic comments do not affect me minimally. Your horrendous writing is indicative of your (low) educational standards. Enough said.
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The "Helsien" brigade strikes again! Bllurting out non-sensical arguments. People who really think that we would be better off without the EU are living in cloud cuckoo land! When did KMB predict the current financial crises? Plus do you know that Labour does not want to regulate the people who have caused all this havoc (the bankers?) However Joseph Muscat is wise enough not to suggest the recipes suggested by a number of sub-literate, insular people posting their comments here!
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Now i know why i don't see any more EU flags [prost @%# club ]on roof tops and in public
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Mr. Gonzi where are you going to get the money to help the sinking Euro?You don't even have the money for the city projects.Going to issue a new tax? Mr. Cameron have what it takes to be a leader next to him i see but a weakling.
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Meigħek naqbel Maltabiss, li għandna inżarmaw mil EU. KMB u CNI iż-żmien dejjem itiegħhom raġun qied. Biss nivvota Labour għax qalinqas għandu il-b*jd, mal-barrani u mhux ilsien twil biex jilaq. Barra min hekk nieħdu il-parir tal-Ġenju Malti MEP Edward Scicluna u mhux il mument li taqbeż mid-dgħajsa fil maltemp.
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Araw l-aħħar aħbarijiet fuq il-medi internazzjonali dwar id-DIŻASTRU tal-Ewro. ** http://eupettydictators.webs.com/links4.htm **bn L-unika triq hija barra mill-Ewro u mill-UE kif nistgħu u kif għandna kull dritt li nitilqu.
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Il-poitiċi GIDDIEBIN. ** KMB u s-CNI dejjem kellhom raġun u dejjem qalulna l-verità. ** PL jekk trid tiggverna irridu nitilqu mill-UE. ** Jew tibdlu d-diska li l-kwistjoni ta' l-UE hija deċiża darba għal dejjem jew ma tieħdux il-voti tagħna. ** Barra mill-UE jew NO VOTE.
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We have to borrow to lend. Soon Government will issue more stocks - borrowing again to make ends meet. We were promised heaven, and here it is, in all its glory. All the citizens of Malta, MLP and PN sympathizers, have been led by the nose.
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Jeffrey Vella
WE WERE PROMISED THAT WE WERE GOING TO GET HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS FROM THE EU BEFORE BECOMING FULL MEMBERS.NOWADAYS,WE ALL KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING.INSTEAD OF GETTING MONEY,WE ARE THE ONES COUGHING UP MONEY TO MAKE GOOD FOR OTHER COUNTRIES' MISTAKES AND NEGLIGENCE. AND MAY I ASK,WHERE IS ALL THIS MONEY COMING FROM ? AND THE PN HAS THE CHEEK TO ASK THE OPPOSITION LEADER FROM WHERE HE IS GOING TO GET THE MONEY FOR HIS PLEDGES.
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dear marks ......every body knows ur type of righting. we know ur family welt so cut the crap
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@marks....and you forgot the best award winning illusion of the INDIPENDENZA FOLKLORE and the EU MEMBERSHIP FAIRY TALE.
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Pajjizna mar il bahar! Il MEP HAJKUN HEMM MIZURI TA OSTERITA FUQHOM?
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I have to note that all the people commenting this article are being unreasonably Eurosceptic... the 260 million is being contributed to the INTERNATIONAL monetary fund (IMF), secondly the eurozone crisis affects everyone, including those countries which are not in the eurozone, we would have been in trouble even if we were not EU Members... Those casting doubts on the benefits of EU Membership need a reality check and should keep in mind that not even Joseph Muscat shares their sentiments. just get over your little islander mentality, Malta is part of the world and whatever happens around us affects us, but I guess that it is useless to explain this to people born and bread on the no "indhil barrani" rubbish and on the fable of "il-helsien".
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Luke Camilleri
Mill fondi tal-Partit Nazzjonalista inghataw dawn il-fondi...minn dawk li gabar Pawlu Borg Olivier minn ghand il-Kuntratturi? Kemm huma Galatomi...bi flusna!
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prosit Gonzipn..so loaning 260 million to the IMF is no problem for the EU imbecilles; but loaning 50 million to save your national airline is subject to a myriad conditions. Well done and keep it up.
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You don't need to be a Nobel prize winning economist to know that taking money out of the pockets of impoverished people will deepen the recession and destroy any prospects of recovery. The IMF technocrats are unable to admit that their theories show a"FAILURE" OF collective imagination.
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Krista Sullivan
fejnom il mitt miljun fis sena li kienu jajtu bihom il pn ????? mil europa
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Over and over we hear PN strategists, apologist and what have you reminding us that, compared to other European countries we can’t complain when it comes to our standard of living. Mind you, the compare us with our brothers and sisters, the Europeans who up to a couple of years before, according to the same PN strategist were our benchmark… the ones we should envy. Remeber Ireland, Portugal and so on….how good they were having it then…but what about now?….we have done like they did and joined the EU club….and now?. What these economic self-proclaimed geniuses’ never remind us is that the reason for which Malta ‘fairs’ slightly better than some of the troubled countries is that we have an almost zero budget dedicated for state defense and security, namely, the army and its maintenance. Not the monetary type of 'fire-fighting capability and the building of better defenses for the future' aspect that this post is talking about. Our budget is not “burdened” with what the rest of the countries that we are compared with spend annually for their nations’ security in the form of armaments and state intelligence. Had our Maltese ‘Par Idejn Sodi’ of a Prim Minister and his Cuc Malti of a finance minister had to allocate a REAL budget for this sector, our already heavily burdened national finances would surely drag us all to the bottom of every imaginable ‘positive’ statistical list.... not that we top any of them, mind you. Our National Security is at the mercy of our whoever deems fit to protect us, in times of need. God forbid that we may ever come to this!
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So now we are richer then IRELAND,and better then ENGLAND.The only people who benefit from the current status quo are those who profit from misery of the majority.
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Tajba din. Malta bi skoss dejn u faqar rega tfaccja f pajjizna u irridu naghmlu ghtja ta euro 260 M lil IMF. U dawn flus mit taxxi taghna. L Ingilterra b ekono mija ahjar minn taghna mhux se tikkontrubixxi. Di l Europa li dahluna fija. Fejn huma issa Fench Adami, Busuttil, Drake u la bella kumpanija li tant ghamlu propaganda li meta nidhlu fl Europa gejjin il Miljuni lejn Malta. Tiftakruh lil Profs Bonnici jghidila li meta nidhlu fl Europa gejjin 100 miljun lira maltin fis sena. U dan il lum gvernatur tal bank centrali ta Malta. Jaf jaghmilhom is somom ukoll
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xieraq jghid li fl EU dahhalna iktar milli hriga.jaf jaghmlu il homework
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Just brilliant micro economy Malta contributes €260 million, mega economy UK nil! What the hell are we in the EU for? How many Maltese are effectively benefitting, while we ALL pay for our taxes?