ESM chief rules out Greek debt restructuring
The head of the eurozone’s bailout fund, Klaus Regling has ruled out the possibility of a restructuring of Greek debt, media outlet EU Observer reported on Tuesday.
Speaking to Germany’s Spiegel magazine, Regling – who heads the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Greece’s largest creditor with 133 billion euros in 30-year loans already disbursed at an interest rate of 1.5 percent – is quoted as saying “there will be no debt restructuring.”
“The interest on these loans was deferred for the next 10 years. All this equals a debt restructuring, from an economic point of view,” Regling is quoted as saying.
He added that it is unlikely that the country’s other creditors would be open to changes in Greece’s agreement, as the International Monetary Fund – contributing 27.2 billion euros to Greece’s bailout – is not allowed to lower its interest rate.
“There may be some little room for manoeuver in the bilateral loans from the first bailout package. But that is up to eurozone member states to decide – they are the creditors there,” Regling said, according to EU Observer.
