Greece willing to reform, EU task force chief says
Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:38am EDT
* Will to reform seen in Athens - EU task force chief Reichenbach
* EU to provide cash, advice to bring
Greece back to growth
* Reichenbach sees investment opportunity in infrastructure, tourism
ATHENS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Greece is willing to carry out reforms and the European Union is ready to help it with cash and advice, the chief of an EU task force set up for the debt-laden country said on Thursday.
Euro zone leaders have recently questioned Greece's reform zeal after the country repeatedly failed to meet its fiscal targets, prompting doubts over whether it can remain in the
euro zone.
However, Horst Reichenbach, the head of a new EU task force for Greece, said he was impressed with the government's will to tackle its problems.
"In all my contacts, I have seen enormous political will," Reichenbach told a news conference during his first visit to Athens. He said the EU had plenty of cash to help kick-start investment and revive the country's ailing economy.
"
Money is not the big problem, money is available... the problem is to put it to good and effective use," Reichenbach said.
Greece has the euro zone's least competitive economy, despite obtaining billions of euros in European subsidies over its 30 years of membership in the bloc.
Reichenbach will head a 25-member team that will draft quarterly reports on the country's reform progress.
It will work separately from the EU, IMF and ECB inspectors, also known as the "troika", who decide whether Athens qualifies for its quarterly bailout instalments.
"The task force is here to help, not to control," said Reichenbach, a German national and a former official at the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
It will focus on helping Greece shore up its finances and get out of recession by improving tax collection and proposing ways to accelerate the allocation of further EU funds.
Athens could attract investment in infrastructure, tourism and energy, Reichenbach said, adding there were "huge employment opportunities" in public-private partnerships currently stuck because of lack of bank funds.
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