Germany:Proposal On Greek Debt Buy Back Circulating In Europe

BERLIN (MNI) - Proposals under which Greece would buy back its own debt with money from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) are currently circulating in Europe, a German government spokesman said Monday.

German weekly Der Spiegel reported over the weekend that EFSF head Klaus Regling had proposed such a plan. According to the magazine, the buy-back proposal received support at last week's Eurogroup meeting. It also quoted an unidentified German finance ministry official as calling the plan a "good idea."

Asked about the Spiegel story, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said today "it seems to be true that such proposals exist because we are reading them and they are circulating in Europe."

There is no lack of individual proposals, Seibert remarked. However, the German government sees the need for a complete package and would "contribute" to forming such a plan, he pledged.

On Thursday, Regling said in a radio interview that markets were too pessimistic on Greece's fiscal situation.

"Markets are assuming that Greece needs a debt restructuring," the EFSF head observed. "But that is not backed by the actual developments, because the [economic reform] program in Greece is going well.""We assume that by implementing these reforms the creditworthiness of Greece will rise again," he added.

The German finance ministry on Wednesday firmly rejected media reports saying that the German government is planning for a restructuring of Greek debt.

--Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com