The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, has rejected suggestions of a unilateral Irish re-negotiation of the EU/IMF deal, but indicated the interest rate could be changed.
Speaking after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers, Mr Rehn said he was watching the Irish election 'very closely'.
Asked about calls for re-negotiation of the deal, he said the EU had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Irish State and 'we expect continuity' from the next Government.
He said there could be 'changes to the pricing policy', but added that this would be as a result of an EU agreement rather than Irish political pressure.
Mr Rehn said it was essential to respect the memorandum, especially for 2011. 'Concerning outer years, there is more room for manoeuvre,' he added.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has said there is 'no leeway' to re-negotiate the EU/IMF deal and to suggest its possible was 'very misleading'.
Mr Lenihan said the issue of the deal's interest rate was on the agenda today but the EU/IMF programme was Europe's and his Government's view on how Ireland can best move forward.
He said he was 'delighted' to hear from Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was 'very well briefed on all aspects of the Irish economy'. But Minister Lenihan added that re-negotiation was not one of the words mentioned at their press conference this morning.
Mr Kenny held a 40-minute meeting with the Ms Merkel earlier. Mr Kenny said he raised the issue of Ireland's corporate tax rate, the interest rates on the Irish bail-out and the question of burden-sharing among senior bond holders in the Irish banking sector.
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore questioned whether the meeting was about helping Ireland, or about electioneering.
