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Sunday, May. 20, 2012 |  Syndicate content

Greek debt deal of 200 bn euros 'within reach': EU Commission

Page last updated at 04:56 GMT, Friday, February 3, 2012 - 09:56 EST

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Economic Times:

A deal to restructure some 200 billion euros of privately-held Greek sovereign debt that would pave the way for a new financial rescue is "within reach," the European Commission said on Friday.

"We believe ... that a deal is within reach," said Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for the European Union's top economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn,

At the same time, Altafaj said the negotiations were proving "very difficult" due to the novelty of securing a 70 percent bond write-down by private creditors.

Despite the problems, and the repeated reports that the talks over many weeks that the talks were on the verge of an accord, Altafaj maintained that there was "a clear willingness among the parties to reach a deal on private-sector involvement (PSI) on a voluntary basis."

The goal is to get Greece's overall debt burden down to nearer 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020, a level required by the International Monetary Fund, from its present 160 percent of GDP.

Read the whole story: Economic Times

Greece-World News