January 3, 2012
The Greek government has stepped up the pressure on its eurozone paymasters by warning that unless a new bailout for the recession-hit country is agreed within the next three months it will be forced out of the single currency.
Pantelis Kapsis, a spokesman for the new coalition government led by former central bank chief Lucas Papademos, said negotiations with the "troika" of the International Monetary Fund, Brussels and the European Central Bank over the coming weeks would "determine everything".
Greece was promised a second emergency bailout worth €130bn (£108bn) in October after it became clear that the first rescue package, agreed in May 2010, was not enough to stabilise its debts.
But talks about this second deal, including a writedown for Greece's private-sector lenders, are still continuing. Kapsis told Greek television: "This famous loan agreement must be signed, otherwise we are outside the markets, out of the euro and things will become much worse."
Reports have emerged since the weekend that the troika could demand fresh austerity measures from Athens in exchange for a new loan to ensure that it meets its targets for reducing the deficit. But Kapsis also said imposing more cuts on a recession-hit nation could be very difficult.
"We will see what the shortfall is and it is very likely that measures will be required," he said. "I also don't believe it is easy to impose new taxes, but what does cutting spending mean? To close down the public sector? There is no easy solution."
More
No comments:
Post a Comment