![]() Greece has received two-thirds of the 110 billion euros it was promised under an EU-IMF programme concluded in May 2010. The fund however denied a report that it had pressed the ECB to write off some of the value of its Greek bonds to help finalise the debt deal.Įuropean Union officials made a debt writedown a condition before public creditors commit to a second EU rescue package worth 130 billion euros. IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned Wednesday that European public creditors would need to pitch in and help Greece. The European Central Bank (ECB), which holds around 45 billion euros worth of Greek bonds, has so far ignored calls for it to accept losses. Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said Friday that Greece's creditor countries should also waive a portion of the country's debt, as cutting private debt alone was not enough.Ĭountries should ask themselves "whether public aid may be needed", the Luxembourg premier told Austria's Standard newspaper as Greek media speculated that the results of the new debt analysis could also be used to step up pressure on official creditors. The IMF, which is bound by rules to lend only to countries that have sustainable debt levels, has insisted on achieving a 120 percent debt level, but sources close to the talks said proposals now on the table would only get Greece down to around 130 percent. The eurozone and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will conduct the analysis and the deal would be adjusted depending on its conclusions, added the official on condition of anonymity. It had hoped to present European Union leaders a framework agreement on the debt writedown at their summit on Monday, and sign an agreement by February 13 so there is sufficient time for the writedown to be achieved.Ī Greek finance ministry official said a new analysis will be conducted to ensure that the writedown returns Greece's debt to a sustainable level. "There is very strong pressure on Greece and the banks to reach a deal from all member states," a European source said.Īthens faces a critical bond reimbursement worth 14.5 billion euros on March 20. Greek government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis told the private radio Flash on Thursday that he "hoped to conclude an accord as quickly as possible." Two previous rounds of talks have snagged on the amount of interest to be paid on the remaining debt. ![]() The Private Sector Involvement (PSI) deal under discussion would see the creditors take a "haircut" of at least 50 percent on the 200 billion euros in debt they hold. The third round of talks between Athens and private creditors aims to reach agreement on a voluntary exchange of bonds that would wipe 100 billion euros ($130 billion) off the country's debt of 350 billion euros. Work will continue tomorrow," the creditors said in a statement. Thursday's meeting in Athens "focused on legal and technical issues on the voluntary PSI and some progress was realised. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Thursday resumed discussions with the lead negotiators of the private creditors, Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre, a statement said. Greece believes repayments pegged to the economic growth rate would better support the fragile economy.Greece will continue talks Friday with private banks and insurers on hammering out a deal for a major debt writedown to escape a looming default, as "progress" was reported amid mounting pressure. We want to sit down and rethink the whole programme." On Friday Mr Varoufakis slammed the current system: "This government was elected on the basis of analytically questioning the very logic of the programme now being applied." Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said that despite warnings his country would shortly run out of money, his government preferred to do without fresh funds and instead renegotiate its entire €240bn (£180bn) bailout package.Īthens has been promised another €7.2bn (£5.4bn) in funds from the troika if it completes reforms required by its lenders by 28 February, when the bailout programme runs out.Įrkki Liikanen, a member of the ECB's policymaking Governing Council, said that funding could dry up if Greece does not remain in an agreed programme. ![]() Greece's newly elected anti-austerity government earlier said it would not co-operate with its international "troika" of creditors - the EU, ECB and the International Monetary Fund. In a thinly veiled threat to Athens and rising anti-austerity political movements such as in Spain, she added: "Europe will continue to show solidarity for Greece, as for other countries hit particularly hard by the crisis, if these countries undertake their own reforms and savings efforts." "I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation."
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