-Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup chief and Dutch Finance
While Greece's Syriza party seeks to keep its election promise to replace the bailout plan, which expires on February 28, with a new agreement that eases austerity and relieves Greece's debt burden, European officials signal that debt reduction would be against the Euro zone rules and would set a precedent for other recession-hit countries. However, Syriza believes that it is unrealistic for Greece to repay its massive debt in full. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Syriza's pledge to seek debt write-off would cost German taxpayers at least 20 billion euros, while the worst-case scenario suggests a loss of as much as 80 billion euros, if a cut of at least a half of Greece's public debt is approved. Yet, Eurogroup members, Euro zone finance ministers are ready to support Greece by providing more time to repay its debt. Meanwhile, the German government insisted that Greece's new leadership should deploy measures to guarantee an ongoing economic recovery in the country. Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister, also said that the Euro bloc is willing to continue the bailout programme for Greece. In the meantime, the effectiveness of the ECB's QE is being questioned. Moritz Kraemer, the Standard and Poor's Head of EMEA Sovereign Ratings, said that the recently announced stimulus programme has laid the groundwork for a revival of the Euro zone's economy, but the bloc's member states still need to proceed with structural reforms.
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