Η πλάκα ήταν ότι η εκταμίευση της 6ης δόσης είχε κλείσει μέχρι που το ζώον ανακοίνωσε δημοψήφισμα και οι ευρωπαίοι ηγέτες σταμάτησαν να κρατάνε ακόμη και τα προσχήματα...Και δεν τους αδικώ.
CANNES, France(Reuters) – The European Union and IMF will not release an 8 billion euro payment to Greece until after the country has held a referendum on the EU’s latest bailout program, a source on the IMF board and an EU source said on Wednesday.
Euro zone leaders last week signed off on the sixth tranche from a 110-billion-euro package agreed for Athens last year, but the sources said the payment was on hold and would not be paid until after the referendum. Without the payment, Greece could face bankruptcy.
“The board would not want to give money to Greece and then wonder what will happen,” the IMF board source said. “The board will want comfort that Greece will fulfill its commitments and right now Papandreou is unable to give that.”
The EU source said EU countries had aligned themselves with the IMF and would only make the payment once the international lender had clarity from Greece on its commitments.
“The sooner Greece holds the referendum, the sooner the sixth tranche will be paid. But right now, it isn’t going to be paid,” the EU source said. (Reuters)
However Dow Jones reports that Greece does not urgently need the 6th aid tranche until mid-December.
Greece doesn’t need urgent bailout payments now and won’t require a sixth tranche until mid-December, a German finance ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
In May last year, Greece narrowly avoided default on its debt payments with the help of a EUR110 billion bailout from its fellow euro-zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in exchange for steps to cut its budget deficit and enact economic reforms. Late last month, euro-zone finance ministers approved their portion of the next EUR8 billion aid tranche promised to Greece under last year’s bailout, but a decision by the IMF is still pending as it is waiting for a new European aid package for Greece to be approved before releasing those funds.
“From all that we hear out of Greece, there is no acute payment need until around mid-December,” Martin Kotthaus told a regular government press conference. That gives time “to take a concrete look as to how we’re proceeding.”
He also said the EUR8 billion tranche from the first bailout package, which had been scheduled for payment in November, hasn’t yet been paid. Germany’s share in that portion is around EUR1.7 billion.
A senior Greek government official told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday the government has sufficient cash to cover its operating needs until December.(WallStreetJournal)
