November 7, 2011
Greece’s two main political parties have been told they must co-sign a letter pledging support for the country’s bailout terms in order to secure an 8 billion euro loan needed to stave off default, the head of the 17 euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said late Monday.
Though the ministers said they welcomed the deal to form a coalition government in Greece, European officials insisted that political consensus over a tough austerity program was a precondition for payment of the loan. Mr. Juncker said the ministers had “underlined the importance of sustained cross-party support for the program in Greece.”
“We have been calling for a coalition of national unity,” added Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs. “It is essential that the new government will express a clear commitment on paper, in writing.”
He added, however, that provided the assurances were forthcoming, the loan to Greece could be disbursed this month. That could be done by teleconference and without a formal meeting of finance ministers, he said.
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