Swiss ministers say not participating in EU's euro fund

Swiss ministers say not participating in EU's euro fund
Sun May 16, 2010 7:00am

Sun, May 9 2010
ZURICH, May 16 (Reuters) - Switzerland's finance and foreign ministers said the country was not considering any measures to help stabilise the euro apart from the International Monetary Fund, two newspapers reported on Sunday.

The two ministers' comments followed an interview with Austrian Social Democrat Josef Cap with the newspaper Kurier, in which he said the EU should ask Switzerland to contribute to the euro rescue package.

"Voluntary contributions worth billions aren't of any use," Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz told the paper SonntagsBlick. "That won't help the euro problem one iota."

Switzerland is participating in the International Monetary Fund's scheme to help the euro zone via its central bank but is not using taxpayer's money.

"These accusations are wrong and demonstrate how little is known about our country's role in the international community," Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.

She said Switzerland was indeed interested in a stable euro, and was contributing to this via the IMF's package and via the central bank's foreign exchange interventions. (Editing by David Cowell)