European and German officials assured markets they were working quickly on approving a bailout for Greece as they try to keep the country’s debt crisis from dragging others into a continent-wide financial meltdown, The Associated Press reports.
European Union monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said Thursday he was “confident the talks will be concluded in the next days.”
He said negotiators from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary fund were “working day and night” to finish details of a bailout that would avoid a wider crisis and “safeguard the financial stability in Europe and globally.”
Rehn’s appearance at the European Commission’s daily news briefing was scheduled at the last minute and appeared to be designed to reassure financial markets that the money will come through and a Greek government debt default was not on the cards.
Markets have been in turmoil over the last few days as the seemingly never-ending Greek crisis threatened to drag other countries like Portugal and Spain into the mire.
“Rehn’s appearance means that we expect this deal to be wrapped on the weekend,” said an EU official who asked not to be named.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has pushed for strict conditions on help for Greece, said that “Germany will help as soon as the preconditions for that are there. We expect a result in a few days. After that, we in Germany will set our leiglative process in motion.”
Greece says it needs a bailout in order to pay euro8.5 billion in bonds due May 19 — mounting fears that Germany might hold up its share of the overall euro45 billion bailout package agreed earlier this month was the catalyst to this week’s market turmoil.
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