Posted by
Frenk Banton on Thursday, July 21, 2011 12:27:49 PM
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone leaders Were Set to Give Their Financial rescue fund sweeping new power to Prevent contagion and help Greece Overcome icts debt crisis, According To The Draft conclusions of An emergency summit on Thursday.
The leaders in Brussels is the after the European Central Bank signaled in a policy reversal now That Is Willing to let Greece default Temporarily Under a crisis response INVOLVE That Would a bond buyback, a debt swap order no new tax on banks.
Minds Have Been Concentrated by the threat That Could Europe&&9;s debt crisis engulf the Much bigger economies of Spain and Italy.Greece, Portugal and Ireland Have Already succumbed.
The draft summit statement Obtained by Reuters Showed the EFSF rescue fund for Would Be Allowed The First Time to help states with Earlier Precautionary loans, to recapitalize banks and to Intervene in the secondary bond market.
"To Improve the Effectiveness of the EFSF and address contagion, We Agree to Increase the Flexibility of the EFSF," it Said, listing Those Three key steps, all of Germany HAD Which Previously blocked.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy crafted a common position in late night talks in Berlin with ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet.
"I expect we Will Be Able to seal a new Greece program. This is important year signal.And with this program we want to grasp the root Their Problems by, "Merkel Told reporters on arrival in Brussels.
Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager Said a short-term or selective default for Greece, along vehemently Opposed by the ECB, WAS now a Possibility.
"The demand to Prevent a selective default has-been removed," He Told the Dutch parliament.The chairman of the 17-nation currency area&&9;s Finance Ministers Jean-Claude Juncker, aussi Told reporters: "You Can never exclude Such A Possibility, drank everything Should Be Done to Avoid It."
According To the draft, the euro zone rescue Maturities on loans to all Three Countries Would Be assisted extended from 7.5 to 15 years and the interest rate cut to around 3.5 percent from 5.8 percent Between 4.5 and now.
The EFSF Would Be Able to lend to states was Precautionary BASIS INSTEAD of waiting Until They Are Shut Out of Market Funding, and to recapitalize banks via loans to Government, Even If They Are not Under an EU / IMF assistance program.
It Would Be Allowed Also for the first time to Intervene in Secondary Bond Market, subject to ECB year analysis recognizing "exceptional circumstances" and a unanimous decision.
Germany blocked All These Measures When the European Commission Proposed &&9;em back in February, at a time When the crisis less acute WAS, EU sources said.
The WIDER EFSF Powers Could Deter or help minimize Any market contagion in case of a Greek temporary default.
In apparent trade-off year for Merkel&&9;s new willingness to embrace Such bolder steps, Sarkozy Dropped a French call for a tax on banks to help fund a second Greek bailout.
The leaders promised to set aussi Were a "Marshall Plan" of European public investment to help revive the Greek economy, in a deep recession due to Draconian EU / IMF-imposed austerity.
CONTAGION
The euro and European stocks, Which HAD fallen on reports of a possible, selective default, rallied sharply on news of the draft conclusions hair dryers. The risk premium investors demand to hold euro zone government bonds peripheral Rather Than German Bunds benchmark fell.
The 115 euro one billion rescue package second Greek Would INVOLVE Both Funding from the more official euro zone and the IMF rescue fund and a contribution by Private Sector bondholders, as well as Greek Privatization revenues.
Were Senior European bankers present in the corridors of the Brussels summit but not at the table, official said. Theys included Baudouin Prot of BNP Paribas, the French bank with the biggest exposure to Greek debt, and Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann, chairman of the Institute of International Finance, a banking lobby HAS That led talks Among bankers. Top Greek bankers aussi Were there.
Their twin AIMS Leaders Were Said to make Greece&&9;s debt more sustainable and Prevent access to contagion from poisoning the bond market for euro zone Other states.
The new bailout Would supplement has 110 one billion euro ($ 156 billion) rescue plan for Greece Launched in May last year.
Worried about the impact on financial markets and wary of angering Their Own Taxpayers, euro area Governments Have struggled for weeks to AGREE on major aspects of the plan, Especially a contribution by Private Sector investors.
The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday Warned That the Global Economy Would Suffer if Europe Could not summon the Political Will to act decisively.
Britain&&9;s finance minister George Osborne, in a year with the Financial Times interview published on Thursday, Said failure Could Produce An Economic crisis as serious as the recession Which Followed the global credit crash of 2008.
New IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde aussi Attended the summit. The global lender urged HAS euro zone leaders to put more money Into Their 440 euro one billion European Financial Stability Facility, and let it buy government bonds of weak states on the secondary market.
The Proposed expansion of the role&&9;s EFSF Would Have To Be Ratified by national Parliaments, and Could fall foul of Critics in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.
Thursday&&9;s summer is very Unlikely to mark a complete resolution of the crisis, as Merkel herself Earlier this week Acknowledged.
A second bailout Greece May Simply keep afloat for a number of months a tough decision Before HAS To Be Made on writing off more debt of STIs.
Many economists Believe the only way out of the euro zone&&9;s debt crisis in the long run May Be Closer integration of national fiscal policies - for example, joined euro zone Guarantee for Countries&&9; bonds, or Issuance of euro area bond joined to finance All countries.
Germany firmly HAS Ruled out Such steps, the second goal Osborne Said Greek bailout Would Be a Step Toward only A Necessary fiscal union in the euro zone.
(Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry in Paris, and Andreas Philipp Halstrick Framke in Frankfurt, and Gernot Heller in Berlin Andreas Rinke, Emilia Sithole-Matarise in London, writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Janet McBride)
Europe Eyes Sweeping new Powers for rescue fund