01 June 2014

Schäuble: Third Greek bailout likely to be less than €10 billion

"In 2022, according to the troika's forecasts, Greece's debt will reach a level that can be described as sustainable so it may be that Greece will need to make use of limited aid again", the FAZ quotes Wolfgang Schäuble as saying in an interview published by Focus. He said the granting of a third aid package was conditional on Greece continuing to meet the terms set by its "troika" of international lenders - the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Such a package would be a "much smaller sum than in the first two programs - so more like a one-digit billion amount." 

In February, German media reported that Berlin was preparing for the possibility that the eurozone would have to support Greece with an extra €10 billion to 20 billion. 

In the wake of those comments,however, as reported by Ekathimerini, Greece’s Finance Ministry has insisted that the country is fully funded until the summer of 2015. "As is known and was accepted at the last Eurogroup, Greece’s funding needs are covered until mid-2015", the Finance Ministry said on Sunday. "For the 2015-16 period the country’s financing needs will depend to a great degree on the results of the bank stress tests that will be carried out by the European Central Bank on a pan-European level."

The ministry issued the statement after SYRIZA pointed out Schaeuble’s comments and the International Monetary Fund noting that further fiscal adjustment is needed as evidence that the government’s policies are not working. "The government cannot hide its devotion to a catastrophic policy that is exhausting the Greek population and includes new measures that are against the interest of society", said SYRIZA. "Nor can it hide that the public debt, the basis for the memorandums, is in no way sustainable."

© Kathimerini