A man works at a shipyard in Perama, a poor suburb near Athens yesterday. Greece’s economy has slumped 23 percent in real terms since 2008, hurting tax revenues.
AHRENSBURG: Germany’s finance minister admitted for the first time yesterday that Greece would need a third aid package, as a source in Athens said the sums involved in any new deal would be far smaller than previous rescues.
“There will have to be another programme in Greece,” Wolfgang Schaeuble told a campaign audience in northern Germany, in comments that raised prospect of a step that could be deeply unpopular domestically just five weeks before national elections.
In Athens, a Greek finance ministry official told Reuters a new bailout would focus on plugging an expected funding shortfall over 2014-2016.
“Greece and its lenders are examining several ways to plug any funding gap that Greece will face over the next few years,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The measures included using leftover funds from a bank bailout programme and previously discussed debt support measures, the official said.
In Frankfurt, the European Central Bank said Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen would visit Greece on Wednesday to discuss progress on reforms needed to ensure more bailout money.
Schaeuble’s comments go beyond any utterances from Chancellor Angela Merkel, tipped to win a third term in the Sept. 22 election, who has taken a more cautious line on Greece to avoid angering voters who fear they will have to foot the bill for Athens.
Reuters
