(Reuters) -
Greece is "highly unlikely" to end its euro zone bailout programme
without some new form of assistance that will require it to meet targets, a
senior EU official said on Monday.
The euro zone/IMF bailout support of 240
billion euros began in May 2010. Greece is in negotiation with EU institutions
and the International Monetary Fund ahead of the expiry of its bailout package
with the European Union on Dec. 31. Athens has said it wants its bailout to
finish when EU funding stops, though the IMF is scheduled to stay through to
early 2016.
The EU official said he expected euro zone
ministers and Greece to decide on how best to help Athens at a meeting of
finance ministers in Brussels on Dec. 8. That should give time for
parliamentary approval before the December recess.
The official gave no details of what new aid
might look like, but policymakers have said that the most likely tool is an
Enhanced Conditions Credit Line, or ECCL, from the European Stability
Mechanism.
That means Greece would be under detailed
surveillance from the European Commission, the EU executive, for the duration
of the credit line.
"There needs to be money available for
drawing on," the official said. "If you look at market volatility
over recent weeks, one doesn’t need any further explanation of why a
contractual arrangement makes sense."
The official also said unused euro zone
funds earmarked for bank recapitalisation in Greece could be used in a new
credit line.
Greece has some 11 billion euros in a
special fund that was set up to recapitalize Greek banks, but results of the
European Central Bank Asset Quality Review and stress tests, released last
week, showed that only a fraction of that sum will be needed.
"What is left over from the
recapitalisation buffer could be used in such a programme or credit line,"
the official said.
(Πηγή:
reuters.com)
