Finland demands loan guarantees for Greece second bailout package

[emezico]

Finland's finance minister, Jutta Urpilainen, addressed a nine-hour meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels that ended early Tuesday. She explained Finland's demands for collateral guarantees for a planned second bailout package for Greece.

Before the meeting, she called the demand "non-negotiable", noting that it is written into the programme of the new Finnish government.

According to a YLE reporter in Brussels, the matter is advancing and the other eurozone countries are prepared to adopt such guarantees if possible.

Finland's European Commissioner, Olli Rehn, says that the Commission is looking into how the guarantees could be carried out in practice.

Reuters reported that the meeting was discussing buying back Greek debt, as negotiations founder on how private lenders can participate in the bailout. That is a key demand from Urpilainen, along with the stipulation that security be provided for new loans.

Although Finland only accounts for a small fraction of the eurozone's economy, it has one of the group's best credit ratings, giving it considerable weight as the bloc considers future borrowing.

The euro nations are to make a political decision on the second Greek loan soon. Athens says it needs another loan in late August or early September in order to pay off 15 billion euros in loans that are falling due in mid-September.

EU finance ministers meet on Tuesday to evaluate the Union's overall economic situation and that of Italy in particular.

YLE, Reuters