FRANKFURT (MNI) – Bundesbank President Axel Weber on Monday told a
group of lawmakers behind closed doors that Greece may need far more in
financial aid than the current sum of E45 billion that Eurozone states
and the International Monetary Fund have recently committed to,
according to an unnamed source cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Weber, a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council,
is reported to have said that the debt-laden Mediterranean country could
require up to E80 billion to cover its debt and avoid a default.
Earlier this month, following an emergency teleconference, Eurozone
finance ministers agreed to offer up to E30 billion in contingency loans
to Greece this year and more in subsequent years, should the need arise.
The ministers also announced that the IMF would co-finance the loan
for an undisclosed sum, which well-placed sources later estimated at
between E10 and E15 billion.
However, Weber warned that the situation in Greece was growing
worse. “The numbers are changing all the time,” the source quoted Weber
as saying. There is “no alternative” to bail out Greece, he reportedly
told the lawmakers.
Last week, the German business daily Handelsblatt cited sources
close to the European Commission suggesting that financial aid for
Greece could end up being as high as E90 billion.
A German federal cabinet member confirmed to the Handelsblatt that
the E30 billion agreed to by finance ministers was only the first step
and that the final amount could be “at least twice as high” as what has
been committed to so far.
–Frankfurt bureau tel.: +49-69-720142. Email: frankfurt@marketnews.com
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