Brussels (Reuters) - Ministers of Finance of zone Euro said for the first time Monday that they would consider asking the Greece private creditors to extend the deadlines on their obligations to buy more time to repay its enormous debt to Athens.
At a meeting in Brussels has been overshadowed by the arrest of the week of the Fund monetary International (IMF) Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges of rape, the Ministers also approved a rescue for the Portugal plan and sustained Italian Mario Draghi to become the next President of the European Central Bank.
Strauss-Kahn, who has headed the IMF based in Washington since 2007, had planned to attend the monthly meeting of Finance Ministers from the bloc 17-nation currency to discuss their crisis widening of debt.
But instead he is forced to appear before a court in Manhattan, where prosecutors described in graphic detail to its alleged attack of a Chambermaid in a midtown Manhattan hotel on Saturday.
Through his lawyers, Strauss-Kahn denied the charges, but the judge refused to grant bail after the prosecution has warned that it might try to flee the country. It must be transferred to notorious Rikers Island prison in New York pending his appearance before the Court next Friday.
Events across the Atlantic has cast a cloud over the meeting, where Ministers struggled with a new plan for the Greece, which is struggling to achieve the objectives related to its rescue EU/IMF 110 billion euros ($155 billion)sealed a year ago.
Many economists believe Greece will become the first Western European country to restructure its debt since the Germany of post-war in 1948, but policy makers have ruled out imposing painful losses, or "hair, cut" on the private sector of the country before 2013 creditors.
"RESHAPING".
Jean-Claude Juncker, of Luxembourg, who chairs the meetings of Minister of finance euro-area, left the door open to a "report" of debt of the Greece whereby investors would be encouraged to agree to an extension of the maturity of the debt they hold.
"I must repeat that a major restructuring is no option." No one was mentioning this evening the need for a major restructuring, "said Juncker.
He added: "I would not exclude definitively a sort of report,". "It does not Report or anything, its measures and actions and measures, and may then Report.".
It is not known how decision makers could convince Greek debt holders to agree to a voluntary "soft restructuring" of this kind. Even if they succeeded, this step would only buy more time Athens, not to reduce the burden of sovereign debt of approximately 330 billion euros.
Juncker has described the situation in Greece as "extremely difficult" but held hope that his problems may be brought under control if Athens has intensified its reforms to meet its budgetary objectives 2011 and moved quickly to sell property of the State.
Another sign of increasing pressure on European Governments to broaden the burden of their rescue plans of taxpayers to banks which have lent to what is called peripheral eurozone countries, Ministers have backed bailout of 78 billion euro of the Portugal but Lisbon insisted seek private bond agreement to maintain their exposure to service its debt.
Finland had insisted on a certain form of participation of the private sector to ensure its Parliament, which includes of Eurosceptic parties, will approve the rescue plan.
It was the first time a country of the euro area has explicitly asked voluntary pledges not private creditors to sell on their holdings of debt.
Lisbon cannot force the holders of the debt to maintain their exposure, so it is not known if the pledge will be more than a symbolic impact. The Portugal is the third country in the euro area for a rescue plan after the Greece and the Ireland, the last year.
DRAGHI SLAM DUNK
For the Central Bank Italian Chief Mario Draghi, in replacement of Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet as head of the ECB when the French mandate expires at the end of October had been widely expected after that Chancellor German Angela Merkel threw its weight behind him last week.
Draghi resumed the ECB at a crucial time, with the rage of the sovereign debt crisis and after the Bank based in Frankfurt triggered his interest rate of reference for the first time in nearly three years in April.
After the withdrawal of surprise of Axel Weber the ECB race in February Germany, Draghi quickly emerged as the favorite and Europe has avoided a disorderly in the nomination fight.
Strauss-Kahn should resign or be dismissed from his post at the IMF, the battle on who should succeed him could be much more intense.
Europe has had a longstanding claim top position of the Fund and would be likely to care to a person who, as Strauss-Kahn, will be committed to helping the block to fight the sovereign debt crisis. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is regarded as the European candidate the top of the page.
But a change of power recent IMF to emerging countries means that countries like China, the India and the Brazil could press for a new head of a developing country.
(Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by David Stamp)
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