Bratislava  - Slovakia's parliament met Wednesday for a confidence vote on Finance Minister Jan Pociatek over allegations he had improper contacts with a financial executive just before a key decision in Slovakia's bid to join the euro.

Pociatek, a leading figure in Slovakia's push to adopt the euro on January 1, has denied suggestions that the meeting on a yacht in Monte Carlo gave J&T Group's boss advance knowledge of a May 28 revaluation of the koruna currency.

Opposition parties called Wednesday's special session to debate a no-confidence motion, alleging that Pociatek leaked the information to the Slovak financial services firm.

Former finance minister Ivan Miklas, now an opposition member, claims J&T made "hundreds of millions" of koruna in currency trading in the days before European Union governments approved Slovakia's revaluation, the Slovak news agency TASR reported.

Prime Minister Robert Fico has publicly reprimanded Pociatek, reportedly calling his behaviour "unethical," but said he wants him to stay in his job.

Slovak central bank chief Ivan Sramko said Tuesday he lacked information to determine whether the opposition charges are true.

The koruna's rise forced Fico's government to ask the EU to adjust the currency's so-called central parity against the euro in late May.

The EU announcement, which lifted the benchmark exchange rate to 30.126 per euro, caused a fresh upward spike in the koruna's value on financial markets.

Fico is lobbying other EU governments to accept a strong conversion rate for when Slovaks trade in the koruna for euros. EU finance ministers are expected to settle the conversion rate in July.

Apart from signalling the ex-communist nation's economic strength, Fico says a conversion rate at the top end of the likely band would help keep prices rises for ordinary Slovaks in check. (dpa)