Finland to back Portugal bail-out

A placard in Lisbon, Portugal, caricatures the euro as a big fish devouring minnows, 5 MayA recent placard in Lisbon, Portugal, caricatured the euro as a big fish devouring minnows
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Political rivals in Finland have agreed to back the proposed EU bail-out for Portugal, side-stepping opposition from a powerful nationalist party.

The prime minister-elect, Jyrki Katainen of the conservative NCP, said he had gained the support of the Social Democrats and others on the package.

The deal removes a major hurdle to the 78bn euro ($116bn; £70bn) bail-out.

Unlike other eurozone countries, Finland’s parliament retains the right to vote on bail-out packages.

In response to the deal, the leader of the nationalist True Finns party, Timo Soini, said it was pulling out of coalition talks.

Following its shock gains in last month’s general election, when it became the third-biggest party with 19% of the vote, the True Finns had been widely expected to join a new coalition.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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