The European Union played down prospects of extending an emergency loan programme for Greece, saying today that the issue was not being discussed.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Greece should be able to finance its borrowing needs on the market from 2012, at the end of a bailout scheme granted jointly by the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
"There is no discussion going on between the interested parties about such an eventuality (extension)," Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a regular briefing.
"All this suggests that Greece will be able to fully cover its external financial needs from the markets from 2012."
The EU and the IMF agreed to a €110 billion bailout plan for Greece in May after its ballooning budget deficit brought the euro zone to the brink of a sovereign debt crisis.
The IMF said on Sunday that bailout loans to Greece could be stretched out or replaced if refinancing worries lingered in markets, but that it currently has no concrete plans to do so.
Under the scheme, Greece is to be allowed to tap the facility until 2012.
Germany said today it opposed extending Greece's repayment period for its bailout loans as the country is doing well refinancing itself. The German comments came after Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou said in a television interview yesterday that Athens was discussing prolonging the repayment period.
The EU said last week that Greek budget deficit and public debt figures would be revised upwards for 2006-2009, following audits of the crisis-hit country by EU statistical office Eurostat.
Greece sold 6-month T-bills smoothly today, with investors paying a lower risk premium - suggesting greater investor confidence, albeit partly due to the IMF suggestion of possible leeway in its timetable.
Greece aims to slash this year's budget deficit to 7.8 per cent of gross domestic product from 13.8 per cent in 2009, based on its draft 2011 budget.
Next year it wants to shrink the budget hole to 7.0 per cent, below a 7.6 per cent target under an IMF/EU bailout plan.
Reuters