No need for early talks on further debt relief for Greece

Eurogroup's President Jeroen Dijsselbloem appeared optimistic on Friday that economic recovery in Greece and across the eurozone will start in 2014, dismissing as "early" any discussion on possible additional debt relief for the country before April next year. In his first visit to Athens as Eurogroup's chief, the Dutch finance minister held a series of meetings with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and other officials on the progress of the ongoing plan to overcome the three-year debt crisis and restore growth. At the end, he expressed optimism for a positive outcome, as long as Greece "like all countries in the eurozone" keeps on working on the needed crucial structural reforms. "Looking at the situation, there are the first signals of a turn in the economy that the measures will open up new perspectives," he said during a press conference after talks with his Greek counterpart Yannis Stournaras.