Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Merkel wants EU deal on 50% Greek writedown

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said European leaders should agree on what would amount to a 50 percent write down of Greek debt from the private sector at a summit to tackle the euro zone debt crisis later.

Addressing the German parliament shortly before a vote on boosting the firepower of the euro zone rescue fund that is set to strengthen Merkel's negotiating hand at the euro zone talks, the chancellor vowed to push for workable, long-term solutions.

"I will work towards reaching sustainable decisions this evening," she said, warning that Greece would need the support of the European Union for some time to come and that no overnight fixes were in sight.

"We will do all we can to get Greece back on its feet as soon as possible," she said, adding: "A debt write down alone will not solve Greece's problems ... structural reforms must still be implemented."

"The goal of the meeting tonight must be to get a result under which Greece will by 2020 have a debt to gross domestic product ratio of 120 percent," said Merkel.