The Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos has conceded that the crisis-plagued
country could require a third bailout only weeks after it secured a second
package of rescue funds following months of hand-wringing in Brussels. Athens may have received the biggest bailout in history but another lifeline
could not be ruled out, the technocratic leader said in an interview. So far,
the EU and International Monetary Fund have committed a total €240bn (£200bn) to
the near-bankrupt nation. "Some form of financial assistance might be necessary but we have to work
intensely to avoid such an event," Papademos told the Italian business daily Il
Sole 24 Ore. Addressing the Greek parliament on Friday he warned of further spending cuts,
saying whatever government emerged after forthcoming general elections it was
vital that it prepared for the measures. "In 2013-2014, a reduction in state spending of about €12bn is required under
the new economic programme," Papademos told MPs in what is expected to be one of
his last appearances before the 300-seat house.
"Every effort must be made to limit wasteful spending and not to further
burden salaries of civil servants."Well-placed sources said the prospect of further aid would be "a given" if
Greece was unable to service its debt by borrowing on international markets. Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, said even if
Athens enforced all the reforms being demanded by its "troika" of creditors at
the EU, ECB and IMF, it remained far from certain that it would be able to
access capital markets by 2015, when the country's latest financial support
program ends.
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