Germany’s finance minister on Thursday said new financial aid for Greece could be considered if it hauls its budget out of the red, a day after parliament passed unpopular new austerity measures.
“Possibly there could be a discussion regarding new [aid] toward the end of 2014 if Greece achieves primary surplus,” Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters on a visit to Athens.
“Greece has made significant progress, we are on a good path,” he added, acknowledging the hardship Greeks have suffered because of the reforms.
The country has been forced to ensure job, pay and pension cuts, in order to secure 240 billion euros (US$314 billion) in rescue funds from the EU and IMF.
Greece’s latest wave of reforms, that put thousands of jobs on the line, but were necessary for the country to receive its next slice of 6.8 billion euros in rescue funds, have caused widespread protests.
“I am very impressed by what Greece has already achieved in rebalancing and modernizing the economy,” Schaeuble said.
Schaeuble, who met Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and other top officials, was present at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Greece and German development bank KfW.
Security was tightened during his visit, as Schaeuble is resented by many in Greece who see him as a champion of the painful reforms the country has had to endure.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
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