Tuesday, June 14, 2011

ECB favourite attacks Germany's Greek bailout plans

Guardian
June 14, 2011

The man tipped as the next head of the European Central Bank has come out strongly against German terms for a second bailout of debt-stricken Greece as eurozone finance ministers argued over how to craft a new rescue.

Mario Draghi, the Italian central banker, went before the European parliament to burnish his credentials as successor in October to Jean-Claude Trichet of France. He promptly picked a fight with Berlin which wants private creditors to take losses as part of a second Greek bailout.

Eurozone finance ministers met on Tuesday night in emergency session in Brussels with the clock ticking on the need for agreement on the new rescue plan.

With the €110bn (£97bn) bailout granted to Greece a year ago having failed to stop the rot, the eurozone is under intense pressure to forestall a Greek sovereign default by agreeing a second rescue expected to amount to another €90bn by next week.

"We haven't yet learned how to manage a sovereign default," Draghi told the parliament, taking issue with proposals from the German finance ministry last week. "We call for the avoidance of any credit events."

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