EMU: Finland sticks to Spanish collateral demand

"We need collateral for Finland to be a part of the aid program," the Finnish Finance Minister said of propping up Spanish banks.

In recent weeks Finland has reiterated that it can’t contribute to the Spanish bailout without collateral if aid is issued from a temporary crisis fund.

Parliament’s Grand Committee chair, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, has also stressed the importance of collateral for Finland. She said on Tuesday that the collateral deal must be struck before the rescue package comes before Finland’s legislature.

According to Urpilainen, the Spanish rescue will take shape before the end of July.

 Read more: Finland sticks to Spanish collateral demand | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi

Europe Boosts Firewall to Protect Spain, Italy - by James G. Neuger and Jonathan Stearns

European governments moved to bolster their rescue funds, seeking to shield Spain and Italy from the fallout of the debt crisis without alienating bailout- weary voters in wealthy countries. 

Finance ministers neared an agreement to run the temporary and permanent funds in parallel until mid-2013, potentially raising the upper limit on emergency lending to 940 billion euros ($1.3 trillion). Amounts immediately available would range between 340 billion euros and 640 billion euros.

“I can imagine that both instruments run in parallel so that automatically we have a higher sum overall,” Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter told reporters before a meeting of European finance ministers in Copenhagen today.

For more: Europe Boosts Firewall to Protect Spain, Italy - Businessweek