EU-Greek Deal on Contingency Mechanism Possible

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — EU finance chiefs will make every effort to help Greece "find growth again" by hammering out a deal that will see Athens meet its budget surplus target, a European Commissioner in charge of economic affairs said Tuesday.

The European Commission and Athens have been locked in a debate over a contingency mechanism that will snap financial measures into place to help Greece reach the primary objective of 3.5-percent surplus by 2018 if it veers off this track. Greece argues that its constitution forbids laws on hypothetical events.

"The Commission’s position is that we have to pull out all the stops to get an agreement, that such an agreement is possible and it is necessary," European Commissioner for Economy and Finance Pierre Moscovici told reporters at a briefing.

Eurogroup finance ministers are scheduled to meet on May 9, after their meeting was called off last week over lack of progress in talks with Greece. Talks will focus on preparing the legal framework for the disputed contingency mechanism, as well as on further Greek reforms.