Juncker "optimistic" after talks with Greek PM

(ADW) Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to Luxembourg on Tuesday, holding a meeting with him at the Hotel de Bourgogne. Finance Minister, Luc Frieden, also participated in these discussions.

Finance ministers in the eurozone should be able to give the green light to loan payments to the tune of 8 billion euros for Greece, which is vital to avoid bankruptcy for the country, stated Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

"I'm pretty optimistic about the possibility of giving a positive opinion" he stated on Tuesday to reporters in Luxembourg just after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos, in relation to a forthcoming Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

The Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund have attached a condition to payment to the sixth tranche of loan to Greece, stemming from the first rescue plan for the country established in spring 2010. They want the main Greek parties, Socialist and Conservative opposition in particular, to sign a written agreement applying economic measures and agreed reforms.

"We want to be sure that the views expressed by the new Greek Prime Minister regarding the need for the reforms promised to the donors in the country are fully shared by the main political leaders in Greece," said Juncker.

"I think that by Tuesday this will happen seamlessly and then we will be able to make a decision," he said.

Already on Monday, the President of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, was optimistic on the subject. "The Eurogroup should be able to agree to pay the sixth installment of the loan to Greece at its next meeting," he said after meeting with Mr. Papademos also in Brussels.

The green light from the eurozone regarding payments of the next tranche of loan, if confirmed, will however, be only the portion financed by the monetary union, or two thirds of the total amount of 8 billion euros. It will also require the separate approval of the IMF.