Greece may need new bailout of €10bn

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said Sunday that if Greece required a new bailout in 2014, it would be a "much smaller" package of around 10 billion euros with no austerity conditions attached. "If there is need for further support to Greece, it will be in the order of about 10 billion euros ($15 billion), or much smaller than the previous programmes," Stournaras told Greek newspaper Proto Thema. Any future bailout would go ahead "without new terms," he said, as Greece's austerity commitments were already set until 2016. There was "no question" of a fresh cancellation of debt, Stournaras added. Two aid programmes from eurozone allies and the International Monetary Fund have given Athens a lifeline since the country's financial crisis began. The first, in May 2010, consisted of loans of 110 billion euros, while the second, passed in February 2012 and in place until July 2014, provided the crisis-stricken country with 140 billion euros. Greece's debt burden to private creditors was also reduced by 107 billion euros in 2012. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble caused controversy this week by saying that Athens would need another rescue after 2014, but in an interview on Friday said "the sums involved will be much smaller than before." The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month estimated Greece would need around 11 billion euros of assistance in 2014 and 2015.