Slovenia PM says no need for EU bailout for the moment

(LJUBLJANA) - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa insisted Friday there is currently no need for the country to seek a European bailout, but added it was still unclear how much help banks would need.

"For the moment, Slovenia is not in danger of having to request help from the European Union's bailout funds," Jansa told Slovenian state radio from Brussels following a major EU summit.

"We believe that with the measures that have been implemented, in particular the bill for balancing public finances, there is no such danger right now," he added.

Slovenia revised its 2012 budget in May and passed a package of austerity measures aimed at stabilising public finances and cutting the public deficit.

By doing so, the government plans to cut the deficit to 3.5-4.0 percent of gross domestic product this year from 6.4 percent in 2011, and meet the EU ceiling of 3.0 percent in 2013.

"The only uncertainty is the banking sector," Jansa said, referring to the country's two largest banks, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) and Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM), both controlled by the state and burdened by non-performing loans.

"Due diligence is currently being carried out in the main banks and we will be able to give an answer to that question (on EU help for the banks) only after the results are known," Jansa said.

European leaders met in Brussels Thursday and Friday to find a way out of the debt crisis plaguing the region, finally agreeing to a 120-billion-euro growth pact, short-term measures to help Spain and Italy and a longer-term roadmap to reshape the 17-nation eurozone.