BERLIN (MNI) – The German government sees no need at the present
time to double the size of Europe’s planned permanent bailout fund, the
European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM), as proposed by Italy’s Prime
Minister Mario Monti, a government spokesman said Monday.
German weekly Der Spiegel reported over the weekend that Monti had
called for a doubling of the funds of the ESM to E1 trillion.
“The [German] federal government is currently not of the opinion
that the ESM must be doubled,” spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a
regular government press conference here.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that the priority of
her government is to move the start of the ESM forward to this summer
and speed up the capital payments by the member states into the ESM.
Commenting on Greece, Merkel said she believed that the
negotiations on a private sector involvement in the Greek rescue as well
as a second bailout program for the country will be finalized in time so
that no bridge loan for Greece will be needed.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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