Greek Finance Minister Confident No New Bailout Needed

If the eurozone is as strong as its weakest link, then it may be stronger than many think. Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, the Greek finance minister, Yannis Stournaras, doused speculation that the debt-stricken country was in dire need of a third bailout – a prospect raised by the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, last week.

“It’s very early now to talk about a [third] economic support package. For the next full year we have no additional need for money,” said Stournaras, referring to the country’s current EU/IMF-sponsored rescue programme.

“All this speculation is premature. The EU [troika] money ends next July and that’s when we’ll have to judge the situation again. Nothing, absolutely nothing is certain yet.”

Athens’s aim, he insisted, was to “approach” international capital markets – from which it has been excluded since 2010 – which would preclude the need for further aid to plug a funding gap in 2014 and 2015 variously estimated at between €9.5bn (£8.12bn) and €11.1bn.

“There is a possibility that next year we will have entered the market again provided we fulfil two conditions, securing a primary surplus [before interest payments on debt] and a positive growth rate [after six years of economic contraction],” he added.

via The Guardian

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