BERLIN (MNI) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that any
decision about aid for Greece can only be made when the country has
agreed on a credible consolidation program with the EU Commission and
the IMF.
Moreover, the EU Commission and the European Central Bank have then
to assess if there really exists a threat for the stability of the euro
due to the Greek problems, Merkel said.
“Only when these two steps have taken place can there be talks
about concrete aid, also about the nature and the size of the aid,” the
Chancellor explained.
Merkel said the Greek Prime Minister told her earlier today that
the negotiations about a Greek consolidation program will still take
some days.
The Chancellor reaffirmed that Germany’s share of the aid package
will come via loans from the state-owned KfW bank. The government will
guarantee these loans.
Eurozone members have said they will provide up to E30 billion in
bilateral loans for Greece this year in a joint program with the IMF.
Germany’s share would amount to up to E8.4 billion. German Finance
Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday that most experts
estimated the likely IMF contribution at between E10 billion and E15
billion.
Merkel announced today that she will get together with the leaders
of the German parliamentary groups to brief them on the Greek aid
demands.
Earlier on Friday, Germany’s main opposition party, the center-left
SPD, said it was willing to support the government in an eventual
financial aid for Greece if it informs parliament quickly and gives it
enough time to deliberate.
Merkel’s CDU/CSU-FDP coalition government is dependent on the
opposition parties if it wants to get an aid bill quickly through
parliament.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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