NEWS

Small concessions for Greece possible, says German deputy

Concessions are possible for Greece so long as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras?s government shows a willingness to strive to meet the main targets set out in its bailout program, a senior lawmaker with Chancellor Angela Merkel?s Christian Democratic Union said.

A precedent for program adjustments was made with the first Greek bailout, when Greece secured lower interest rates and longer maturities on bilateral loans than those originally set, Norbert Barthle, the CDU budget spokesman in parliament, said today in a telephone interview.

The German Parliament?s Budget Committee would be called upon to approve such adjustments rather than a vote going to the full plenary session, he said. That would probably make the concessions easier it to pass.

?Small concessions are feasible provided they are strictly made within the framework of the second aid program,? Barthle said. ?For instance, the interest and maturity on loans could be adjusted, as in the case of the first aid package? for Greece.

?What?s utterly important is the will of the Greeks to fulfil the terms of financial help. The ball is in the Greeks? court.?

[Bloomberg]

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