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BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--European banks and insurers are ready to participate in a roll-over of Greek debt, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday, as talks go on between euro-zone governments and financial institutions.
"We have had a lot of meetings with the French banks and insurance companies, and we are informed about all the meetings in the euro zone with equivalent institutions, and we have no difficulties or concerns," Sarkozy said, after a summit of European leaders in Brussels.
Sarkozy said he expects the entire mechanism for aiding Greece, including a new bailout plan and the private sector contribution, will be negotiated and ready to be put in place by the beginning of July.
At the summit here in Brussels European leaders agreed to appoint Mario Draghi as new president of the European Central Bank, after Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said he would step down from the ECB's board by the end of the year.
There had been uncertainty over whether Draghi's appointment could be delayed, with ECB governing board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi slow to leave his seat. France is looking for assurances that Smaghi's seat will be ceded to a French official.
"Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi called me to tell me that by the end of the year he would have a new role," Sarkozy said, without commenting on what that new role might be in a "very complicated" political situation in Italy.
"Everyone agrees that on a six person board of the European Central Bank, you can't have two members of the same nationality," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy said it would not be courteous to say who might replace Smaghi.
"I was happy to speak with Mr.Smaghi, I found him to be a man of quality, [although] I would have preferred to have dealt with the issue less," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy also said it is important for France to have a rule in its constitution to have a balanced budget and also said he was pleased that French finance minister Christine Lagarde's interview to head up the International Monetary Fund "went well."
"We have had a lot of meetings with the French banks and insurance companies, and we are informed about all the meetings in the euro zone with equivalent institutions, and we have no difficulties or concerns," Sarkozy said, after a summit of European leaders in Brussels.
Sarkozy said he expects the entire mechanism for aiding Greece, including a new bailout plan and the private sector contribution, will be negotiated and ready to be put in place by the beginning of July.
At the summit here in Brussels European leaders agreed to appoint Mario Draghi as new president of the European Central Bank, after Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said he would step down from the ECB's board by the end of the year.
There had been uncertainty over whether Draghi's appointment could be delayed, with ECB governing board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi slow to leave his seat. France is looking for assurances that Smaghi's seat will be ceded to a French official.
"Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi called me to tell me that by the end of the year he would have a new role," Sarkozy said, without commenting on what that new role might be in a "very complicated" political situation in Italy.
"Everyone agrees that on a six person board of the European Central Bank, you can't have two members of the same nationality," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy said it would not be courteous to say who might replace Smaghi.
"I was happy to speak with Mr.Smaghi, I found him to be a man of quality, [although] I would have preferred to have dealt with the issue less," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy also said it is important for France to have a rule in its constitution to have a balanced budget and also said he was pleased that French finance minister Christine Lagarde's interview to head up the International Monetary Fund "went well."
