BRUSSELS (MNI) – Eurozone finance ministers took a break from a
recent spate of frantic crisis talks Monday to take stock of Greece’s
E10 billion debt buyback plan and discuss the outlines of an aid package
for Cyprus.
Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker expressed confidence that a
long overdue aid tranche for Greece would be approved at the next
meeting of the currency bloc’s finance ministers, scheduled for December
13, but he declined to comment on details about the buyback plan, whose
successful execution is a precondition for the aid disbursement.
Earlier Monday, Athens launched its buyback plan with minimum offer
prices ranging between 30.2 and 38.1 percent of the nominal value and
maximum prices between 32.2 and 40.1 percent, depending on the
maturities of the outstanding bonds.
Juncker, who reiterated his desire to step down as leader of the
finance ministers group at the end of this year, or early next year,
also welcomed progress in talks with Cyprus on a bailout package,
including fiscal consolidation measures, and said he hope the
discussions would be concluded “in a timely manner.”
Eurozone ministers are waiting for an independent evaluation of the
Cypriot banking sector’s capital needs this week or next, to get a
better picture of the amount of aid the country may need.
Speaking after the meeting, the head of the Eurozone’s bailout
fund, Klaus Regling, criticized a recent decision by rating agency
Moody’s to downgrade the fund’s credit rating from AAA to AA1, saying it
had failed to appreciate the ESM’s strong political backing and “very
robust capital structure.”
“The ESM can claim to have a very strong situation and unparalleled
strength among other multilateral lenders,” he argued.
–Brussels Newsroom, +324-952-28374; pkoh@mni-news.com
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