Germany wary about new Greek deal

The German government expressed caution about the third bailout deal clinched by Greece and its international creditors on Tuesday, saying it would examine the deal over the next few days.

"We will look over the result over the next few days," Germany's Deputy Finance Minister Jens Spahn told German n-tv television after Greek officials said they had reached a three-year bailout deal worth about 85 billion euros (94 billion US dollars) with international creditors on Tuesday.

According to the deal, the third one within five years, Greece would have to make fiscal adjustments and other reforms in order to receive fresh aid which the country urgently needs to stay afloat in the euro zone and restore economic growth.

Spahn said Germany, the biggest contributor to the 240-billion-euro bailout Greece has received since 2010, wanted to see the troubled country "get back on its feet again and really survive in the capital market" like Spain, Portugal and Ireland did with their bailout programs.

He added that the important thing was "the (Greek) government and the Greek people themselves also want this."

On Monday, when Greece and other negotiating parties expressed optimism about concluding a deal soon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert was more sober, saying "thoroughness over speed" must be emphasized in the talks.

Earlier on Tuesday, Spahn also said "we're talking about a program for three years, it needs to be negotiated thoroughly... it must be convincing that it's not just about Aug. 20," referring to the date by which Greece must pay a three-billion-euro loan installment to the European Central Bank (ECB).

Before Aug. 20, the new deal needs to be reviewed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his euro zone counterparts on Friday and ratified by euro zone parliaments thereafter.

Germany was reluctant to save Greece with the offer of a new bailout, fearing it was throwing more of taxpayers' money into "a bottomless pit." To solve Greece's debt problem, Europe's biggest economy insisted on strict fiscal discipline and harsh structural reforms which Germany largely viewed as effective measures, but was seen by Greeks as "humiliation."

A month ago, when German lawmakers gave the green light to start the negotiations with Greece, Schaeuble, who had repeatedly said Greece was better off temporarily leaving the euro zone, told the German parliament that the new bailout would be "the last attempt" to resolve the Greek crisis.
   Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
11/8/15
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