EU Commission: Third bailout deal with Greece possible before August 20

Talks with Greece on a third bailout are moving ahead in a satisfactory way and reaching an agreement is possible before August 20, the European Commission said on Thursday.

   The Commission comments were in response to remarks by a German government official in the Bild daily, that reaching a deal by Aug 20, when Greece has to buy back 3.5 billion euros of its bonds from the European Central Bank, was "not achievable".

   "What President Juncker himself said yesterday in an interview remains valid that the negotiations with the Greek authorities are 'progressing in a satisfactory way', that he believes 'an agreement this month preferably before August 20 is possible' because, as you know, August 20 is the date for an important payment to the ECB," Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said.

   "We believe that this is an ambitious and yet possible timetable," she told a daily news briefing in response to a question about the Bild story.

Πηγή: reuters.com