The Eurogroup on December 8 will discuss conditions under which Greece will get a credit line when the current program expires, German Finance Minster Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday.
The Greek coalition government wants to exit the bailout program by the end of 2014. Premier Antonis Samaras is under a lot of pressure from the opposition and is trying to expedite the procedure.
However, the troika of international creditors refuses to agree over several reforms Greece has not implemented yet and a 2.5-billion-euro fiscal gap they see in the 2015 budget. Therefore, the disbursement of the final tranche of the current program is at stake.
“At the moment, the troika and Greece have to determine whether Greece has fulfilled the conditions for the payment of the final tranche of the current program,” Schaeuble told German television network ARD.
“Then we have to see what is necessary for next year after the current program has expired. Greece is in a better position than we assumed two years ago but it needs support on financial markets, so the thinking is in terms of a precautionary credit line, with certain conditions attached.”
The Greek side is rushing to reach an agreement with the troika before the meeting of the Eurozone finance ministers on December 8. At the moment, Athens is at risk of missing the deadline and as a result the current bailout program will be extended into 2015.
The Eurozone finance ministers will convene in Brussels on December 8 to discuss the Greek debt issue. Germany’s Spiegel magazine speculated on Sunday that Greece will be offered a precautionary credit line under conditions.
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