The European Stability Mechanism (ESM)

The decision by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to freeze short-term measures to ease Greece's debt also froze buying interest in the local market, leading to losses for the majority of stocks on Wednesday, which may well continue into Thursday's session.

The three main stakeholders in the Greek debt issue, namely the government, the European lenders and the International Monetary Fund, will have to agree that debt relief is unavoidable and should be compatible with realistic primary fiscal targets from the start.

“Greece is not close to any default. We are working to conclude the review and avoid problems of last year” said director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and CEO of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Klaus Regling.

Head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Claus Regling said he hoped the review of the Greek stability program would be complete before May, according to Reuters. Regling expressed whether the Greek government would be capable of implementing the necessary reforms provided for in the program.