BERLIN (MNI) – Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday
called for making the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) more
flexible.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum Annual
Meeting in Davos, Papandreou said the European Union needed “the
necessary tools and rules and arsenal…so that we can calm the
markets.”
“First the bond markets where there’s the issue of debt,” the Prime
Minister reasoned. “And this is where the EFSF, this new mechanism,
should be able to be robust and flexible enough to intervene and help in
this way.”
Papandreou stressed that Greece was on track with its austerity
program. “We have to do our homework and we’re doing that,” he said. “We
have been doing everything by the book. The question is why haven’t the
markets responded.”
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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