Eurozone

Spain raised the pressure on Greece Monday to "honour its commitments" to its European partners to end its debt crisis and prevent its dropping out of the eurozone.

"I do not want Greece to leave the euro. I do not believe that would be good for Greece or for Europeans in general," said Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a radio interview.

By Manoj Kumar

Greece needs to implement structural reforms, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Monday, echoing other international creditors who have urged Athens to implement reforms to secure urgently needed funds.

The ministry announced on Sunday that it has received prior approval from the World Bank for a partial guarantee of up to 200 million euro, which will allow it to request a loan from international lenders of up to 250 million euro. Banks have been invited to make their offers by April 1.

Greece needs to implement structural reforms, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Monday, adding that she felt strongly for taxpayers of the debt-strapped eurozone member state.

Lagarde made the comment at a question-and-answer session with students in New Delhi after earlier giving a speech.

[Reuters]

By Eleni Chrepa & Nikos Chrysoloras

Greece is set to make its next repayment to the International Monetary Fund Monday, further depleting cash reserves that risk running out this month unless a deal is reached with European partners.

 Credit conditions are getting tighter and this will hit the country?s economic activity sooner or later

By Dimitris Kontogiannis

By Tasos Telloglou

A recent letter sent by Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis to the Eurogroup included a provision that Athens foresees the collection of some 500 million euros per year in revenues from taxing online gambling. One wonders how he came to that amount.

Thousands of people are expected to march in Frankfurt on Wednesday to protest against austerity policies they blame on the European Central Bank, as the ECB inaugurates its new high-rise headquarters.

Greece believes that the February 20 Eurogroup agreement means that there is no specific primary surplus target for this year, a leading Greek negotiator has told Kathimerini.

The Cyprus example may be the best choice for Greece in order for the Greek government to be forced to implement reforms. This is a view sponsored by German magazine Der Spiegel, calling upon information from German chancellery officials.