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Thu, May 23 2013

Greek PM Papandreou rules out debt restructuring

Wed, May 18 2011 08:43 CET

byVOANews

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Greek PM Papandreou rules out debt restructuring

Greece's prime minister George Papandreou addresses an economic conference in Athens, May 17 2011. Greece believes that a restructuring of its debt would do more harm than good, Papandreou said.


Photo: Reuters

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is ruling out a restructuring of Greece's debt, as it struggles to repair its economy.

Mr. Papandreou said Tuesday that such talk distracts from his economic priorities, including more reforms and privatizing state-owned assets to help pay down the debt. He said the costs of debt restructure far outweigh the potential benefits.

Eurozone chief and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday that a "soft restructuring" of Greece's huge debt is a possibility.

This would call on Greece's creditors to give it more time to pay back last year's $158 billion emergency bailout. Mr. Juncker says he strictly opposes a major restructuring, in which some of the debt is written off.

EU officials have raised the possibility of giving Greece another bailout this year, but only after Athens carries out more economic reforms.

Last year's bailout did not result in a major improvement in the Greek economy.

Ireland and Portugal are the other two EU economies needing emergency help. But officials in some of Europe's strongest economies, particularly Germany, are reluctant to dole out more loans without debt-troubled countries imposing more austerity measures, including spending cuts and cracking down on tax evaders.

Source: VOANews.com

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Anonymous watch Wed, May 25 2011 16:03 CET
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Poor Yiorghaki mou. God will help you and Greek people out.


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