HAMBURG (MNI) – Offering additional time for adjustment programs
will cost money, European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg
Asmussen said Monday.

The comment comes after Greece Prime Minister Antonis Samaras
asked his Eurozone partners for more time to carry out necessary
reforms. Samaras said that “more time does not automatically mean more
money.”

Asmussen said that while Greece had made notable progress for
instance in cutting its deficit, “what has been achieved is by far not
sufficient.”

“It also clear that every delay of reforms, every stretching out of
the timeframe for adjustment process costs money. Money that will either
have to be saved at another spot or be made available by [Greece's]
partners,” Asmussen said.

–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 72 01 42; e-mail jtreeck@mni-news.com

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