ECB's Stark Says Greece Is on Track but Needs Structural Reform

Wall Street Journal
December 12, 2010

European Central Bank board member Jürgen Stark said the Greek fiscal consolidation program is broadly on track but the country needs to redouble its efforts and urgently address issues of structural reforms, according to an ECB news release Saturday.

In May, the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund agreed to grant Greece a €110 billion ($145 billion) bailout to prevent certain bankruptcy in exchange for unprecedented austerity measures and deep structural reforms.

"The program remains broadly on track," Mr. Stark said in an interview to To Vima, a Greek newspaper, that will be published Sunday. "But Greece needs to continue structural reforms to lay a sound basis for growth and job creation. It is not a short-term task. It is not a 100-meter sprint, it is a marathon, and Greece has just started with this process."

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