Euro’s ‘guardians’ open door to debt relief

Published on 21 August 2013 at 13:45

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Speaking at an election rally in Ahrensburg, northern Germany, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble announced that "Greece will require a new programme" of international aid" after 2014 — its third since 2010 — reports Greek daily Ta Nea.

Under the headline, "Greece goes to ballot box (but in Germany)", Ta Nea points out that a month ahead of German general elections, scheduled for September 22, Greece's debt has become a major campaign issue.

"Faithful" to Chancellor Angela Merkel's hard line, Schäuble has rejected the idea of debt restructuring, the paper says, adding that his "messenger" Jörg Asmussen, who sits on the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), is expected in Athens on August 21 to discuss other relief options with Greek officials.

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However, debt relief has not been ruled out by European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn who told Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat that he expected new aid to Greece to be in the form of an extended repayment schedule for its loans.

The Commission, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund will review the Greek reform programme as well as its debt sustainability in the autumn, Rehn said, who mentioned "the possible continuation of the plan and of its financing," but without giving further details.

For German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Schäuble should be lauded for telling voters the truth "four and a half weeks before the elections" and "not four and a half weeks after." However, the newspaper adds that —

… experts have long known that Greece will not be ready for the capital markets by 2015. It follows that the country will need further assistance during a transition period. [...] The question is: where will the money come from? [...] Schäuble would do well to also explain that to citizens, and once again, preferably before the elections.

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