La EU decidira la proxima semana acerca del rescate Griego.
EUROPE BUSINESS NEWS Updated March 1, 2012, 1:58 p.m. ET
EU To Decide Next Week On Greek Bailout
By FLEMMING HANSEN And WILLIAM BOSTON
BRUSSELS—Euro-zone ministers authorized the release of funds to help Greece complete a debt restructuring and inject capital to its banks, and said they will hold follow-up discussions next week to make a final decision on a second Greek bailout package.
Officials from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association have stated that Greece has not had a "credit event" and credit default swap payments will not be triggered, at least not yet. Dow Jones's Jenny Paris and Katie Martin explain why this decision is not clear cut. Photo: AP
Greek Deal Won't Trigger CDS Payouts
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said the teleconference to approve a second Greek package would likely happen next Friday after the deadline for the Greek debt swap.
"There are still a few things that we have to evaluate, but we were able to make a positive decision in principle so that we can release the funds that are required for the debt swap," he told reporters.
"Beyond that, we will decide on releasing funds from the second Greek program when the results of the debt swap have been evaluated. Greece has made a lot of progress and is well on the way," he said.
In an earlier statement Thursday afternoon, euro-zone finance ministers said Greece had implemented all the legislation required of it and that it would authorize the region's temporary bailout mechanism to issue the bonds for a debt buyback from the euro system, for the recapitalization of Greek banks and for the euro zone's contribution to Greece's debt restructuring.
However the Eurogroup said the disbursement of the bonds and final approval of the second bailout package required a successful completion of the debt restructuring and a final assessment from the troika of official lenders of the Greek measures.
European economic affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said he thinks the worst is over for Greece. "I'd say that a very important step has been taken today, following the private sector action, towards reaching the program crucial to putting the Greek economy back on a sustainable path and create growth."
Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen said that "I myself, and all my colleagues, were very pleased" with Greece's progress on the measures it had pledged to implement to win a second bailout program. They were briefed earlier Thursday in Brussels by Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
She said a teleconference between the finance ministers and Greece has been scheduled for next week, where the Greek minister has been asked to go into further details. The final green light for as much as €93.5 billion ($125 billion)—which Greece needs to implement the debt swap—will come next week.
In a statement from the Eurogroup, ministers said the troika—the International Monetary Fund, the euro zone and the European Central Bank—will finish its detailed assessment of the quality of Greece's prior actions "in the next few days."
The Eurogroup gave the go-ahead for the European Financial Stability Facility to implement the collateral enhancement facility with the euro system via a buy back of Greek bonds.
It also authorized the backstop facility for the recapitalization of Greek banks and the issuance by the EFSF to finance the euro zone's contribution to the Greek debt restructuring.
"The Eurogroup, however, reiterates that a successful PSI operation with high participation and a final positive assessment of the complete set of prior actions are necessary conditions both for the disbursements of these EFSF bonds and for the second program," the statement said.