Euro zone bailout fund reform will not involve automatic debt restructuring - Scholz

FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz attends a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/ - Copyright Johanna Geron(Reuters)

By Reuters

Published on 23/11/2019 - 12:34•Updated 19/04/2024 - 02:12

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MILAN (Reuters) - A proposed reform of the euro zone bailout fund (ESM) will not involve automatic debt restructuring for struggling countries, Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.

In an interview published on Saturday, Scholz said the ESM's task was to support struggling countries by lending them money subject to certain conditions.

"There is not any automatic debt restructuring," he added.

Italy's ruling parties failed to reach an agreement on Friday over the planned ESM reform, two lawmakers said, as Rome frets about the impact the changes could have on the country's massive public debt.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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