European Commission: No consequences for Ireland over Anglo tapes
The European Commission said that Ireland will not face any consequences from the contents of the Anglo tapes.
The economics commissioner Olli Rehn said the content of the tapes is a matter for the Irish government and not the EU.
He was responding to calls from a Dutch MEP to cancel Ireland's bailout loans and force Ireland to repay the money immediately.
It is the first time that authorities in Brussels have commented on the tapes.
Dutch MEP Auke Dijlstra said the disclosure of the Anglo Tapes revealed how Ireland's bailout was "based on lies".
He has called on the European Commission to demand the immediate return of Ireland's bailout loans, so that other EU countries do not have to cover the cost of Anglo.
In his first public comments on the subject, Olli Rehn said the tapes are an internal matter for Ireland and have nothing to do with other EU countries.
He said Anglo's apparent attempts to deceive the Irish government about the extent of its problems came two years before the bailout loans.
The commissioner said it does not matter that Ireland needed a bailout because of the cost of saving Anglo and the other banks.
That is because the EU loans were made directly to the Irish state, and not to the banks.
