|
Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Mechanism, told
reporters that there was progress in talks. "The ESM has a
mandate to look at short-term measures, which we do, and we will
make proposals before the end of the year," he said.
Athens has been pushing its official creditors to specify ways
to ease its debt load, the highest in the euro zone as a
percentage of economic output. Its leftist-led government argues
that delays would keep badly-needed investment at bay, harming
prospects of economic recovery. The country's third
international bailout ends in 2018.
Regling said short-term relief measures would mainly aim to
reduce the interest vulnerability of Greece's economy.
"There is quite a lot of agreement. We will not have a precise
agreement on what to do in mid-2018 but on the short- term
measures we will probably have decisions this year," he said.
The ESM chief said medium-term steps on debt would be taken when
the current bailout program ends and could be followed by
longer-term relief if Athens adheres to reforms.
(Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
