Finnish finmin says Portugal needs to calm markets
Portugal needs to take decisive political steps to calm international markets, Finnish Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen said on Tuesday.
Portugal has already announced many actions, but it would be good to review what more could be done, Katainen told Finnish broadcaster MTV3.
He also said Ireland may not be the last country to seek financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but declined to say whether there were discussions about providing a loan to Portugal.
A senior euro zone source said on Sunday that Germany, France, Finland and other euro zone countries were pushing Portugal to seek an EU-IMF assistance program, following Greece and Ireland, to prevent contagion spreading to much larger Spain, the fourth-biggest economy in the euro area.
Asked about the Reuters report, Katainen said: I cannot comment on other countries' actions or this kind of rumours because rumours create new rumours.
(Reporting by Terhi Kinnunen)
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