Slovakia's parliament Friday ratified the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the eurozone's permanent bailout fund, with a strong majority, dpa reported. The vote was 118-20, with a further 12 either abstaining from the vote or absent from the chamber. Past resistance in Slovakian politics to euro bailouts - a previous government collapsed in a vote linked to an earlier bailout fund - had led many pundits to speculate as to whether Slovakia would back the ESM. The ESM is to become the primary fund to support troubled eurozone economies in July. However, about half of the eurozone's 17 members have yet to ratify the treaty.
