ATHENS, Greece — A debt deal is “attainable” at an emergency European Union summit Thursday, Greece’s finance minister said, signaling progress in talks between governments and private bond holders in forming a new rescue deal for Greece.
Evangelos Venizelos also told The Associated Press in an interview late Monday that Greece remains on course to reach a primary budget surplus next year, despite missing key fiscal targets so far in 2011.
Greece is enacting major economic reforms alongside an austerity program as it grapples with a national debt topping $477.5 billion that has brought it to the brink of default.
Leaders of countries that use the euro are to attend Thursday’s emergency talks in Brussels amid fears the fallout from Greece’s woes could spread to larger European countries. Borrowing costs in eurozone members Italy and Spain have risen sharply in recent days.
“Reaching a solution is attainable because this solution does not only include Greece,” Venizelos said in his office. “At issue is the euro and the resilience of the eurozone. That is why protection of Greece is a self-defense mechanism for the eurozone. That will help us avoid a domino effect.”
