EU ministers should agree short-term Greek debt help - Sapin

Reuters
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin speaks during an interview with Reuters in his office at the Bercy Ministry in Paris, France, October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers should agree on Monday on a short-term plan to ease Greece's debt payments schedule at a meeting in Brussels, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said.

Sapin's comments contrasted with those of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Sunday, who said Greece must carry out structural reforms instead of receiving debt relief.

"This afternoon we will talk about short-term measures to ease the debt weight," Sapin said on arrival at the meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels.

"These are important measures, measures which will have a positive effect on Greece. I think we will have an agreement on these measures," he added.

Greece's official creditors - the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the ECB and the IMF - are assessing Athens' delivery on reforms and fiscal targets set in its bailout programme of up to 86 billion euros (72.31 billion pound) agreed last summer, the third aid package for Greece since 2010.

Sapin said the Greek government had made many reforms and Europe had to consider easing its debt burden in return.

"As Greece sticks to its agreements, Europe must also stick to the agreements it made with Greece," Sapin said.

(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Robert-Jan Bartunek; @macdonaldrtr; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)