Gašparovič will appoint Radičová's cabinet, comprised of her conservative SDKU party, the liberal Freedom and Solidary (SaS) party, the Christian Democrats (KDH) and the mostly ethnic Hungarian Most-Hid party, on Friday at 07:00 GMT.
The government's first task will be to make a long-awaited decision on Slovakia's share of a 750-billion-euro European safety net for debt-laden countries unable to borrow on international markets, a deal agreed under the previous leftist administration of Robert Fico.
The incoming coalition has baulked at guaranteeing 4.5 billion of up to 440 billion euro in loans for eurozone states struggling with high debt, saying Slovakia, as the zone's poorest state, should not have to pay for profligate countries with much higher incomes.
Radičová has said her government would not block the agreement, but incoming Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš (EurActiv 05/07/10) said this week he would travel to Brussels on Monday to negotiate with his EU counterparts and unveil the government's stance.
Slovakia's reluctance to sign has delayed the so-called EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility) mechanism, originally set to become active on 1 July, and highlighted the difficult decision-making process in the European Union.
It has also raised doubts over the euro zone's ability to back its weakest members, sending a signal of uncertainty to markets that severely punished Greece earlier this year by driving the cost of its debt to record high levels (EurActiv 05/05/10).
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
