ATHENS (MNI) – Greece’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou
sent a letter Thursday to top officials in Europe and the International
Monetary Fund, requesting talks to discuss the details of a contingency
financial support plan for his country.

Papaconstantinou, noting the E30 billion contingency aid agreement
hammered out by Eurozone finance ministers last Sunday, said that “Greek
authorities are seeking talks with the European Commission, the ECB, and
the IMF on a multi-year economic policy program…by which Greece can
receive financial support from the Eurozone countries and the IMF in
case the Greek authorities decide to officially ask for help.”

Though the letter makes clear that Greece is not yet asking for the
help to be activated, the request for a meeting nonetheless suggests
that, with Greek bond spreads once again widening and prospects for a
U.S. dollar bond of up to $10 billion quickly evaporating, the formal
request may not be long in coming.

Eurozone finance ministers on Sunday announced that they stood
ready to provide loans to Greece of up to E30 billion in the first year
of a 3-year plan, with more funding negotiable in subsequent years. As
part of the plan, the IMF would contribute between E10 and E15 billion
of its own money, sources said. But details of exactly how the EMU and
IMF portions of the plan would mesh together have been vague to
non-existent.

Senior Greek Finance Ministry officials told Market News that With
the call for a meeting today, Greece is seeking to iron out exactly what
the details of the joint EMU-IMF plan will be, and what fiscal,
macroeconomic and other conditions will be imposed on Greece in exchange
for the aid.

According to European Commission sources, the IMF has been
insisting on imposing its own plan and own conditions in exchange for
the money it provides.

However, Eurogroup sources said they want a combined and mutually
agreed plan outlining the framework under which the money will be
disbursed, the maturity of the loans, and what additional measures
Greece would be required to implement — not only in terms of fiscal
policy, but also longer-term reforms, especially in the labor market and
with regard to competitiveness and growth.

It seems likely that Greece is feeling pushed to the wall, as the
yields sovereign debt remain stubbornly high despite last Sunday’s aid
agreement. Another factor may be the diminishing prospects for funding
its needs in financial markets even at elevated interest rates.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Greece was
being forced to slash its expectations for a U.S. dollar bond, which the
Greek government had hoped would raise $5 billion to $10 billion. Now,
the Greeks are looking at a figure in the range of $1 billion to $4
billion, and could end up scrapping the bond sale altogether, the
newspaper said.

It cited a Greek official, who acknowledged that there appears to
be very little appetite for Greek paper among U.S. investors.

Papaconstantinou’s letter was addressed to ECB President
Jean-Claude Trichet, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary
Affairs, Olli Rehn, and the Managing Director of the IMF, Dominique
Strauss-Kahn.

The ongoing issue drama is likely to dominate discussions among
finance ministers and central bankers, who meet in Madrid starting
Friday and are already arriving there this afternoon.

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