Greece will receive a €5.2-billion tranche of bailout loans as anticipated today, despite rising uncertainty over the country’s political future, EU and Greek government sources said.
“The payout will take place because it has already been approved,” Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for European Union economy commissioner Olli Rehn, told AFP by telephone yesterday.
“As far as I know, there is no problem with this instalment of €5.2 billion,” a senior Greek government source also told AFP after telephone talks between eurozone officials and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bailout officials on Tuesday and yesterday respectively.
Telephone talks between finance ministers from around the single currency area had also been pencilled in for today, another eurozone government source said as international backers turn towards checks on the remainder of a €130-billion second package of loans agreed by European leaders in March.
This came as Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned that future loans would not be automatically forthcoming unless Greece installed a stable government.
“We have to say to the Greek people right now that the situation is serious, that no European Union country will be able to release even a portion of the €130 billion for the Greeks, if there is no functioning government that respects the rules and manages the disbursed money,” he said in Brussels. A spokesman for another eurozone country said: “It’s clear people are very worried about what is happening in Athens.”
Eurozone finance ministers are due to meet in person on Monday in Brussels.
In Athens, Gikas Hardouvelis, economic advisor to outgoing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, warned that Greece’s future was up in the air after voters in Sunday elections deserted the mainstream parties which have endorsed tough EU and International Monetary Fund bailout conditions.
Greece is trying all avenues to nail down a governing coalition over the coming days – repeat elections having otherwise been mooted otherwise for June.