GODOLLO: The European Commission ruled out Saturday any restructuring of Greece's public debt, which has exploded to around 340 billion euros ($485 billion).
"Yes, we do exclude restructuring," European Union Finance Commissioner Olli Rehn said as EU finance ministers wrapped up two days of talks in a Hungarian castle dominated by a deal to bail out Portugal.
German news weekly Der Spiegel said eurozone finance ministers discussed such an option during a telephone conference call on April 2 with Rehn and European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet.
Seated alongside Rehn at a news conference, Trichet underlined: "We have a plan. That plan has been approved by the international community ... and we apply the plan."
Athens has repeatedly denied it is seeking to reschedule payment volumes and dates.
"Restructuring is not an option. It has huge costs and the benefits do not outweigh the costs," its finance minister George Papaconstantinou told AFP this week. "It is not an option, period," he said.
After a year of painful austerity cuts producing mixed results, the Socialist government in Greece -- the first eurozone state to need a bailout last May -- is facing increasing calls to even out the repayment of the public debt.
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