BRUSSELS (MNI) – Eurozone finance ministers, pushing to arrive at a
bailout deal for Greece, continue to negotiate over measures to bring
the country’s debt closer to the target of 120% of GDP by 2020, a
Eurozone government official said here Monday.
“There is no magic number, but they are trying to get close to that
level,” the official said at a background briefing.
A debt sustainability report given to Eurozone finance ministers
last week showed that a second bailout deal as currently conceived would
leave Greece’s debt at 129% of GDP by 2020, well above the 120% level
demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
The official said ministers were juggling variables, including the
rates that Greece will pay on its loans and the size of the contribution
from the European Central Bank and national central banks.
The target size of the bailout package remains E130 billion, but
there is no agreement yet on the precise contributions from the official
and private sector creditors, the official said, declining to speculate
on how long the negotiations might take. The issue is complex because
the elements under discussion are all interdependent, he explained.
Overall, however, there is a sense that an accord will be reached,
the official said.
“There is a sense that Greece has fulfilled its obligations,” he
said. “A large number of measures have been agreed. An accord is at
hand.”
–Brussels newsroom; jduffy@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$$CR$,MGX$$$,M$Y$$$]
