BRUSSELS — Current plans to save Greece from financial collapse would still leave the country with debt far above the maximum level set by its international creditors, a European diplomat said Thursday.
When they tentatively agreed on more help for Greece in October, the leaders of the 17 euro countries said the country’s debt load had come down to 120 percent of its economic output by 2020 — the maximum they said was manageable without external support.
The new level is now expected to be closer to 129 percent, the diplomat said.
The fact that even substantial new help, both from the eurozone and private bondholders, cannot sufficiently decrease Greece’s debt load is one of the main reasons doubts over a second, $170 billion bailout for Athens have emerged.
The diplomat was citing figures from a new report by Greece’s international debt inspectors — the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
The report analyses Greece’s growth prospects over the coming years as well as the impact of new austerity measures promised by Athens, a $130.92 billion debt relief Greece has negotiated with private bondholders and the new bailout.
The diplomat was speaking on condition of anonymity because the report is confidential. He couldn’t say how much money would be necessary to close the gap between the 129 percent and the 120 percent target. At the moment, Greece’s debt is just above 160 percent of economic output and, without the debt relief, it would rise to about 200 percent by the end of this year.
