EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn arrived in Athens on Thursday to talk about financial issues. After his meeting with the Minister of Finance, Papaconstantinou stated: “By succeeding in its program, Greece is regaining the confidence of its partners in Europe and beyond. One sign of this is that the council of EU Finance Ministers is ready to look positively into the extension of the repayment period of the loan for Greece. I am certain this will dispel any doubts over Greece being able to repay its loan”.
The European Union will probably decide in January 2011 on the extension of the repayment period of Greece’s loan bailout, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn said at the Economist Conference in Athens on Thursday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Rehn said that Europe’s Finance Ministers were favourably disposed to extending the repayment terms. This should calm markets’ speculation about Greece’s ability to repay its debt. The extension: “will mean that we will be able to go beyond and stabilize [Greece΄s] debt dynamics and overcome the hump in debt repayment, especially in 2014 and 2015.”
“This will certainly reinforce stability and confidence in the Greek economic reform program,” he added.
Olli Rehn stressed the importance of reform, but also criticised Greece for both the fall in its competitiveness by 20% over the last 10 years and the fact that public sector borrowing wasn’t matched by private sector savings, according to the newswire.
“However, I welcome the measures Greece has taken so far, even if it’s a daunting task there is no alternative and I say with since admiration that the country has come a long way since May,” Rehn stated in the conference. “There is still much to be done,” the commissioner added.
“We need well coordinated action to meet the challenges at the national and European level and it is encouraging that many states have adopted fundamental structural reforms and fiscal consolidation,” Rehn concluded, according to the news agency.
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