Several euro zone finance ministers told ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet in a conference call last week they have doubts Greece will meet its fiscal targets and suggested Athens restructure its debt, a magazine reported on Saturday.
According to Der Spiegel magazine, several of the finance ministers said Athens would be unable to meet its fiscal targets and return to the markets for funding next year and asked if a debt restructuring for Greece would be sensible in view of the situation. But European Central Bank chief Trichet blocked the idea and said he was not willing to discuss it, Der Spiegel said.
The report, to appear on Monday, said Trichet feared that a restructuring could damage confidence in the entire euro zone and could hit banks holding Greek debt hard.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble viewed Trichet’s concerns about capital markets to be exaggerated and not credible, Der Spiegel said.
(source: reuters)
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