Lithuanian finance minister: Bailout package intended to get Greece back on its feet

“The very essence of the support program is to get Greece back on its feet to an extent where it would be able to use borrowed money to finance its needs on its own, that is, to issue bonds in global markets at normal, economically justified interest rates, something it cannot do now,” the minister told reporters at the parliament building.

It is planned that this aim will be achieved within three years, he added.

The parliament’s European Affairs Committee on Tuesday discussed Lithuania’s position to be presented by Šadžius at Wednesday’s meetings of the ESM’s Board of Governors and Board of Directors.

Gediminas Kirkilas, head of the committee, said that he believed that Greece would manage to overcome the crisis.

“I expect that Greece will overcome the crisis over time and will stay in the eurozone. It is in our interest that it stays in the eurozone for a variety of reasons,” the Social Democratic lawmaker told reporters.

“If Greece went bankrupt, that would mean losses to all countries, both political and financial. It is in our interest to support this decision, which has been reached through really very difficult negotiations,” he said.

The Lithuanian government on Monday approved the 86-billion-euro bailout package from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the disbursement of the first tranche of 26 billion euros.