BRUSSELS
European Union leaders denied on Wednesday speculation about Greece receiving a third bailout program from its Eurozone partners.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels that it’s too early to discuss a third bailout for Greece.
"It is premature to talk about a third program; that is speculation that is best avoided," Juncker said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels.
"We are going to focus on implementing what was agreed in the Eurogroup," he added.
Merkel echoed Juncker’s comments at the joint press conference: "The Eurozone has its hands full with the existing bailout."
Juncker’s comments came after Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told a news conference in Barcelona on Wednesday that Greece would need a third bailout because the indebted country would not likely be able to return to capital markets by June -- when the current bailout expires.
De Guindos said that Greece would need an aid package of €30 billion ($33.4 billion) to €50 billion ($55.6 billion).
De Guindos said: "We have given ourselves these four months to first see what the real situation is, to see how Greece has met conditions and then to try and establish what happens next ... which is fundamentally a third rescue."
Eurozone finance ministers approved on Feb.24 Greece’s list of reforms needed to extend its €172 billion ($191.5 billion) bailout program by four months. Greece's European creditors expect rapid implementation of economic reforms before they will release the next tranche of bailout funds.
