Premature to talk about third Greek bailout: EU's Juncker

By Reuters

Mar 04, 2015 06:04 PM EST

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center, L) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (center, R) take part in a group photo with EU commissioners in Brussels March 4, 2015. (Photo : Reuters)

It is too early to discuss a third bailout package for Greece, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday, stressing the focus of talks with Athens was implementing measures already agreed with the euro zone.

"We are going to focus on implementing what was agreed in the Eurogroup," Juncker told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "It is premature to talk about a third programme. That is speculation that is best avoided."

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Wednesday that Greece was unlikely to be able to return to capital markets by June, when an extension of its bailout expires, so it will probably need further support from European partners.

He reiterated an earlier comment that preliminary estimates pointed to an aid package of between 30 and 50 billion euros ($33-56 billion).

© Reuters All rights reserved.