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EU ready to help Greece in 'whatever way necessary'

16 October 2014, 12:37 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - The EU will help twice-bailed out Greece "in whatever way necessary," the bloc's top economics official said Thursday, as stocks plunged across Europe on fears of a return of the eurozone debt crisis.

The statement from Brussels Economic Affairs Commissioner Jyrki Katainen came as investors were spooked for a second day about Athens terminating its international bailout plan.

"There should be no doubt that Europe will continue to assist Greece in whatever way is necessary to ensure reasonable financing conditions for the Greek state," said Katainen's statement, read out by Commission spokesman Simon O'Connor.

The EU would "support Greece in reassuring lenders and financial markets of the ongoing firm commitment to reform and to the maintenance of budgetary targets," the statement said.

Earlier the Greek central bank said the ECB would throw Greek banks an extra cash lifeline if the government sticks to its international bailout programme.

At the height of the crisis, the Commission and key EU partners countries such as Germany, were blamed for stoking the crisis by leaving doubt that Greece had the bloc's full backing.

The Athens stock market plunged 5.7 percent on Tuesday and 6.3 percent on Wednesday, while the yield on its 10-year government borrowing prices jumped to an unsustainable 8.0 percent.

Analysts have said investors are concerned that Greece will not be able to stand on its own two feet if, as the government has signalled it may do, it terminates its IMF programme early.

Greece's EU aid ends in December, but under its IMF programme that lasts until 2016 there is still $16 billion (12.5 billion euros).

After four years under a rescue by the IMF, EU and European Central Bank -- the so-called troika -- worth about $300 billion overall, Athens has done much to improve its finances.

But the country is eager to get free from the tight budgetary and policy auditing exercised by the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank.


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