BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Commission aims to facilitate a quick
decision on the request for financial aid from Greece, a spokesperson
said on Friday.
Earlier Friday the Greek authorities — who are grappling to manage
the country’s soaring budget deficit and huge debt load — requested
that an aid plan worth up to E45 billion, offered jointly by the 15
other Eurozone member states and the International Monetary Fund, be
formally activated.
The European Commission and the European Central Bank will now
examine the request for aid and make a recommendation to the Eurozone
states, who will then vote on whether to give aid.
“All this will take place speedily, we are not foreseeing any
obstacles,” European Commission spokesman Amadeu Tardio told reporters.
“There is a commitment for this to happen quickly.”
A delegation from the Commission in Athens is working “hand in
hand” with representatives from the International Monetary Fund to draft
the aid deal, which will come with stringent conditions and requests for
sweeping structural reforms, Tardio said.
“This is convergence going on and joint work, day in, day out,” he
said. “There is close cooperation at all levels.”
Earlier this week, Tardio told reporters that preparations for this
kind of aid package usually take 2-3 weeks, and other Commission sources
said they thought it would take at least ten days for the aid deal to be
thrashed out.
The Commission has said it expects Greece to stick to the austerity
plan it outlined for this year, and to take more measures for 2011 and
2012.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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