Greece is expected to run out of cash in late July and remains unclear whether it will be given cash to meet funding needs over the summer.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels Tursday Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras said he had been given assurances that Greece would get "some kind" of interim funding over the summer to repay a 3.1-billion-euro bond, held by the European Central Bank, maturing Aug. 20.
The country will not get fresh bailout money before September and doesn't expect to get more time to meet creditor-imposed fiscal targets until the country gets its austerity program back on track, Stournaras said after a two-day euro-zone finance ministers meeting.
Any changes to the bailout terms would be hammered out only after the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund make an assessment on where Greece stands in relation to meeting its targets, said Luc Frieden, Luxembourg's finance minister. He added that officials from the so-called troika of creditors were expected back in Athens July 24 to assess the country’s short-term financing needs.
To meet 2012 fiscal targets under the "tough demands", Greece would have to find another 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) of savings "in the coming weeks," Stournaras said.
After a prolonged period of political instability, culminating in elections in May and June, Greece now needs to find the savings urgently.
Ta Yp' Opsin
Sources: AP, Dow Jones Newswires
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