Third Greek Bailout Is 'Inevitable', Warns Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup Chief

'A Third Greek Bailout Is Inevitable'
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Eurogroup President Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem attends a debate on the convention of the aid to Cyprus at the Senate (Tweede Kamer) at the Binnenhof in The Hague on March 26, 2013. The Cyprus debt rescue and its 'bail-in' provision to make large bank depositors pay part of the cost is largely in line with European Commission plans to ensure taxpayers no longer carry the can when banks fail. The head of the eurozone finance ministers group, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, caused consternatio
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Greece's economic problems could be so deep that it would need to be economically bailed out for a third time, Dutch finance minister Jerosen Dijsselbloem has warned.

The finance minister, who also leads the Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers, admitted that it was "inevitable" that more action would be needed next year to support the debt-ridden country.

"The problems in Greece won't be solved in 2014, so something more will have to happen," Dijsselbloem told Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad. The form and size of Greece's bailout would depend on the country's economic progress, Dijsselbloem added.

Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary affairs, said that he did not rule out a third bail-out for Greece.

The gloomy warnings about Greece's economic fate were dismissed by other eurozone ministers. Austrian finance minister Maria Fekter said that additional financial aid for Greece was "not in discussion".

Last month, the International Monetary Fund said that Greece would need another 11 billion euros (£9.4bn) in 2014/2015.