As the Greek government keeps rolling out statistics showing a burgeoning recovery from a deep recession and a crushing economic crisis, European Union officials have scaled back their expectations the country would need a third bailout.
The news agency Reuters reported that a senior Eurozone official it didn’t name said Greece would receive additional aid only if the government requests it.
Most of the last of two rescue packages of 240 billion euros ($330.7 billion) from the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) runs out this year.
Eurozone officials now are said to be concentrating on the timing and amount of the remaining delayed installments. While Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said all will soon be will, pointing to a 1.5 billion euro primary surplus, the country still is paying 6.8 percent interest for 10-year bonds, which is unsustainable in the markets.
In February, German media reported that Berlin was preparing for the possibility that the Eurozone would have to support Greece with an extra 10-20 billion euros. Greece is expected to ask for debt relief but German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country puts up much of the loan monies, has ruled that out.
But asked if any plans were being made to help Greece finance itself in 2015 and 2016, the official said: “Within our circles there has been absolutely no discussion of that, program for now is up until end-2014.”
The IMF’s program will pay some of the loans to the first quarter of 2016 but won’t pay unless Greek financing needs are fully covered during that period, either by the Eurozone or the markets, to which Greece hopes to return later this year.
“The Fund (IMF) will require assurance by its European partners that if so required, financing would be available. And I have no reason to doubt that such assurances, if asked, would be given,” the official said.
Euro zone finance ministers will meet on April 1 in Athens to discuss the timetable and size of loan disbursements that Greece should get under the existing program after the schedule was set back by seven months of tough negotiations, delaying a nine billion euros installment Greece needs to pay a bond in May.
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