Eurogroup must prove to be Greece's partner

DEBT relief for Greece is a necessity. This should be decided not at some indefinite time in the future but within the next few weeks, presupposing that the Greek programme of economic reform and restructuring is broadly on track. This is an urgent task for Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch Finance Minister and chairman of the Eurogroup of European finance ministers.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already taken the initiative, calling on Greece's European creditors to reschedule Greece's debt as a condition for the Fund joining the 86 billion euro (S$136.8 billion) bailout package decided in August. Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, has said the creditors increasingly accept the inevitability of debt restructuring, but only if Greece takes ownership of the rescue package by passing tough budget cuts and far-reaching measures to overhaul the economy.

That was the promise made in Brussels in July to his euro counterparts by Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister. After engineering an election victory that confirmed him in office on Sept 20, Mr Tsipras won a vote of confidence in the Athens parliament last week. That should be the cue for the creditors to follow the IMF's suggestion and start talking seriously about debt cancellation or restructuring.