Slovakia halts euro rescue fund expansion

Slovakia's parliament effectively blocked European efforts to stabilize the eurozone Tuesday, when plans to expand the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) failed to win a majority in parliament, DPA reported.

At the same time, the country's government collapsed, because Prime Minister Iveta Radicova had linked a confidence vote to the vote on the euro bailout fund.

Slovakia's rejection could eventually threaten the EFSF reform, but parliament is expected to vote for a second time in the near future.

While the neo-liberal SaS, one of the four governing parties, did not participate in the vote on Tuesday, the opposition Social Democrats had indicated that their obstructive stance was up for negotiation once the government fell.