A Commission official denied allegations that the EU is reviewing a bailout package for Greece to the tune of €20-25 billion after the Germany's Der Spiegel magazine allegedly got hold of a paper from the country's finance ministry detailing the terms of Berlin's contribution.
The EU formalised its support for a Greek rescue, should the time come, at an EU summit two weeks ago, but member states refused to say how much a bailout could cost and how the money would be raised (EurActiv 17/02/10).
"Greece has not requested a single euro," the Commission official told the press, rejecting claims that calculations of individual member states' shares of a bailout were afoot.
German finance ministry denies 'concrete plans'
The German Finance Ministry also appears to have backtracked from the original leak.
The reports in the German press are "pure speculation," a spokesperson for the ministry told EurActiv.
"Der Spiegel's speculation that there are concrete plans at the German Finance Ministry of a multi-billion eurozone bailout for Greece are not accurate," read a written statement from the ministry.
The statement, however, did not deny the existence of plans for a Greek bailout, saying only that no decision had been taken [regarding the plans and who would be footing the bill].
According to Der Spiegel's report, as the eurozone member with the deepest pockets, Germany would pay the greatest share of the rescue plan at €4-5 billion.
The leaked paper also says that either German reconstruction bank KfW or the national bank rescue fund would pay Greece once it had satisfied "strict conditions" tied to the EU aid.
Greece tardy again
In addition to the controversies surrounding a bailout, on Friday (19 February) Greece missed a crucial deadline to provide the EU with information on alleged currency swaps to cover up the size of its debt.
The currency swaps, which were reportedly arranged by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, would serve to hide billions of euros of new debt from the public and from the national regulator.
The EU yesterday said it was pushing the Greek government to provide a full explanation as soon as possible.
According to the Greek authorities, strikes by customs officials at the ministry of finance had caused the delay.
Greece's late response comes on top of waning credibility as the Commission tries to validate over five years of financial data.
It recently came to light that Greece's national statistics agency had fudged the country's public debt figures, claiming the debt was only half of its true level, which stands at 12.7% (EurActiv 13/01/10).
A technical mission of EU officials landed in Athens yesterday to see how Greece's "estimated measures will impact revenues and the size of its debt," said a Commission spokesperson.
The country has been asked to provide a detailed report of its rescue measures by 16 March, which will be subject to EU approval.
