A sort of real Marshall Plan, ie a plan of additional aid to what has already been foreseen, is the result that emerges from the awaited European summit underway in Brussels. It is no coincidence that the first rumors about the community summit have inflamed the markets and the stock exchanges are posting significant increases. Loans to countries in difficulty such as Portugal, Ireland and above all Greece could be extended from 7 and a half years to 15, perhaps even up to 30. As for interest rates, they should be reduced from 4,5 to 3,5%. .
The intervention of private individuals remains an important point. The draft states that the Greek case "is a single serious situation in the Eurozone" and therefore requires "an exceptional solution". The financial sector will be fundamental, which "has indicated its willingness to support Greece on a voluntary basis" for the exchange of bonds, rollovers and buybacks. The hypothesis of allowing the European fund to save states, the EFSF, to buy government bonds of countries in crisis even on secondary markets also stands.
These solutions, according to diplomatic sources, would be contained in the draft final declaration of the EU summit. The same sources confirmed that the new loan to Greece could reach 71 billion, of which 18-20 could come from private participation. These are important hypotheses, because they would make it possible to avoid the selective default of the Greek country. The latter possibility had been anticipated this morning by the president of the Eurogroup, Jean Claude Juncker, and seemed to be the basis of the agreement reached overnight between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. According to calculations by the Institute of International Finance, Greece would need about 170 billion euros over the next three years. Of these, 28-30 would come from privatizations, 58 from the old loan, while the remainder should be guaranteed with the second tranche of funds.
