Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling took a hard line withGreecebefore debt talks witheuro zonepeers on Monday, saying Athens could not simply expect to get six months more time to work out a new rescue plan.
"I think it is a misjudgment byGreece. If you look at the repayment needs to whichGreece committed itself again at the last meeting, then they need money too, not just time," he said in an interview with Austria's ORF radio.
Again ruling out any debt forgiveness forGreece, Schelling said slight tweaks toGreece's bailout package could be discussed but no future program could be addressed before the current one is worked through. "One point everyone is underestimating is thatGreecehas to make the request and that is not yet on the table," he said.
Greek negotiators began talks with the Troika - the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund - on Friday in a bid to seek common ground between the ongoing bailout deal and Greece's new plan.
EU officials think anew bailout program is still possible, regardless of how it is called.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/austria-talks-tough-greece-deal-still-possible