Merkel: Greece Doesn't Need EU Help
BERLIN (
) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly said Sunday that Greece needs no financial help and that the European Union shouldn't make aid for Greece an issue at its summit planned for Thursday.
"Aid is not on the agenda on Thursday," Merkel told Deutschlandfunk radio, according to the
Associated Press
. She reportedly added that Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou had given her his assurance that Greece would not ask for EU support.
"I advise all of us to not cause turbulence on the markets by raising the wrong expectations for the summit on Thursday," Merkel was quoted saying.
Her comments are a retort to European Commission officials who have pressed Germany and other big EU governments to create a package of bilateral loans to help Greece.
On Friday European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said European aid was necessary because "we cannot prolong any further the current situation," the
AP
noted.
Greece's large public debts have driven up the nation's cost of borrowing. Greece has promised to take strict measures to reduce its deficit as a percentage of GDP, but on Thursday, Athens said it might have to appeal the IMF for help if its eurozone partners don't develop a specific aid plan.
This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.
