BERLIN: The European Union wants to mobilise structural funds as guarantees for struggling Greek banks to help stimulate growth, the head of the European Union's new task force to help rebuild the Greek economy told a German newspaper.
Horst Reichenbach told Die Welt in an interview for Monday's edition that one of Greece's main problems was that "the real economy has no access to financial help or credit".
"The banking sector was very solid but has suffered badly in the sovereign debt crisis.
It is not in a condition to finance and support the growth that is so badly needed," said Reichenbach, the head of a 25-member team charged with drafting reports on Greece's progress on reforms that are the condition for its bailouts.
"This is where the EU structural funds have an important role in providing financing in certain areas to give an impulse for growth," he said.
Reichenbach said last week that of 20 billion euros of structural funds available for Greece 70 percent had not been touched and could be used to support infrastructure and industry in areas like tourism, farming and renewable energy.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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