Papandreou Criticizes Proposal for Creditor Role in Bailout
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By Mark Deen and James Hertling - Jul 12, 2011 12:18 AM GMT+0200
Greek Prime Minister
George Papandreou criticized proposals being considered to share the cost of a bailout with creditors, adding pressure on European finance ministers to find alternative plans.
The proposal “seems to be flawed,” Papandreou said in a letter to Luxembourg Prime Minister
Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs meetings of euro-area finance ministers. “It could prove to be too expensive, too little and too dangerous. Too expensive for Greece and too little or inadequate to effectively deal with the management of Greek debt. And with these meager results one may still not avoid a selective default.”
The criticism, aimed at a French proposal under which investors would reinvest 70 percent of their holdings in 30-year Greek bonds, suggests that
Greece’s debt-load would be unsustainable under such a plan.
Standard & Poor’s said last week that the plan would amount to a “selective default.”
Euro area finance ministers met in Brussels late yesterday to consider the plan and an alternative bond-swap proposal revived last week by
Germany. Ministers from all 27 EU countries will have further discussions in Brussels today.
“
I am now convinced, after 14 months, that no matter what Greece does -- and we have proven ready to live up to our responsibilities -- if Europe does not make the right, collective forceful decisions now, we risk new and possibly global market calamities due to a contagion of doubt,” Papandreou said. “Strong and visionary European leadership is needed.”
Bonds of debt-strapped countries plunged, the euro sank and stocks dropped amid concern that European governments are powerless to prevent the financial distress spreading from Greece.
(Bloomberg)
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Estratti della lettera di Papandreou a Juncker inviata prima dell'inizio dell'Eurogruppo.