Greek government-debt crisis countermeasures

Greece must not be granted a "bail in" that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, Germany's deputy finance minister said in an interview broadcast on Feb. 26, reiterating the German government's opposition to debt relief for Athens.

"There must not be a bail-in," Jens Spahn told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, according to a written transcript of the interview.

Greece and its European creditors agreed on Feb. 20 to resume talks on what reforms the country must make next in order to get the money it needs to avoid bankruptcy and a potential exit from the euro.

Greece and its creditors resumed attempts on Tuesday to break an impasse on fiscal reforms as the country's leftist-led government criticised the IMF for keeping quiet about the risks of deeper austerity measures in the discussions with lenders.

As representatives of the country's international creditors return to Athens Tuesday for a new round of negotiations, the director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department, Poul Thomsen, and its economic counselor and director of research, Maurice Obstfeld, have denied, in an article they co-authored, that the Washington-based organization is asking Greece for more austerity.

Government officials on Monday resumed negotiations with representatives of the country's international creditors with the aim of reaching an agreement by Wednesday, though sources in the prime minister's office on Tuesday suggested that a meeting of eurozone finance ministers is unlikely before the Greek Orthodox Easter break.

Standard & Poor’s said Greece risks a default in a new report. Political reactions to the painful Greek bailout are the number one risk that the country faces.

The government needs to implement reforms including pension cuts and benefits and this is increasing political instability in Greece. The first evaluation of the program by the ESM has been delayed until February 2015.

Greece's international creditors on Dec. 22 handed over a payment of 1 billion euros under the terms of its third bailout program after Athens met their demands for further tough economic reforms.

The European Stability Mechanism, the 19-nation eurozone's bailout fund, said the funds will help Athens repay debt, balance the budget and finance projects.

The director of the IMF’s European sector, Paul Thomsen warned that the Greek elections will delay the scheduled review for the 3rd Greek rescue plan, thus affecting the release of nearly 800mln Euros to Greece, as part of the bailout plan agreed between Greece and its creditors.

The third bailout deal between Greece and international lenders has been given the green light by German lawmakers.

The latest deal will unlock some EUR 86 B in funding for Greece's debt-ridden economy with Athens receiving its third package in five years.

German lawmakers approved the baliout overwhelmingly, with 454-113, while 18 abstained.

Greece and its international lenders (EC, ECB, IMF and ESM) reached the 85-bln-euro bailout agreement to cover the next three years after 23 hours of talks that ran through the night on Tuesday.