Merkel says Greek bailout terms may be changed
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted that the second Greek bailout package might have to be renegotiated amid increasing market speculation Wednesday that European leaders want to force private holders of Greek bonds to take bigger losses.
Merkel didn’t rule out altering the terms to the euro109 billion ($148 billion) package, saying the decision must be based on how Greece’s debt inspectors, the so-called troika, judge Athens’ recent austerity efforts.
“So we must now wait for what the troika finds out and what it tells us: do we have to renegotiate or do we not have to renegotiate?” she said in an interview with Greece’s ERT television Tuesday night.
Merkel added that she “cannot anticipate the result of the troika.”