BRUSSELS, Sept 16 (KUNA) -- Finance ministers from the 27-member European Union are holding an informal meeting Friday and Saturday in Wroclaw, Poland, amid growing speculation that Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The two-day meeting will be chaired by the Polish Minister of Finance Jacek Rostowski, whose country holds the current EU Presidency. According to an EU Presidency statement, the ministers will discuss the economic situation in the EU and the world, ways to prevent disruptions in financial markets and prospects for return to growth.
Currently, three euro-area countries Greece, Ireland and Portugal benefit from financial assistance from the EU and IMF loans.
Ministers may refer to the adjustment programs agreed with the EU and the IMF for these countries, in particular by Greece, which is still the centre of attention of financial markets, noted the statement.
The situation in these countries has an impact not only on the euro area but also on other EU member states, it added.
Timothy Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary, and David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been invited to attend the meetings on the state of the economy in the EU and the world as guests. (end) nk.rk KUNA 161005 Sep 11NNNN