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Greece may need more help: Austrian chancellor

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Reuters Frankfurt/Vienna
Last Updated : Jan 21 2013 | 2:31 AM IST

Greece may need more help and a topping up of the euro zone's permanent bailout fund cannot be ruled out, the Austrian Chancellor was quoted saying in a newspaper on Sunday.

"I would not trust anyone who says that (the help) for Greece is enough," Werner Faymann said in an interview with Austrian paper Oesterreich. "For Greece it depends on whether they can stick to these measures over several elections."

He also did not rule out extending the European Stability Mechanism, saying it "may be necessary."

The euro zone will decide whether to increase its debt crisis firewall before the end of March, probably at an informal gathering in Copenhagen set for March 30-31.

The aim will be to combine the 250 billion euros left in the temporary EFSF bailout fund with 500 billion euros in the permanent ESM facility, to create a "super-fund" better able to cope with potential problems in Spain or Italy, although Germany remains opposed to the idea for now.

The Austrian chancellor also said the European Union must continue to support not only Greece, but also Portugal, Italy and Spain.

"Let's not forget that our economy is strongly linked to that of Italy," he told the paper, although added that Italy was in a better position than Greece.

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First Published: Mar 05 2012 | 6:24 AM IST

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