Juncker concedes mistakes on Greek bailout

ATHENS, Greece — Former Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker conceded Tuesday that mistakes were made in the bailout of Greece, days after a similar admission by the International Monetary Fund.

The Luxembourg prime minister, who played a central role in the 2010 bailout out through his position as the head of the grouping of the euro finance ministers, said the European Union and the IMF were "overly optimistic" in the early stages of the bailout process.

But Juncker, who stepped down as the Eurogroup president earlier this year, insisted the $317 billion rescue program had met its basic aim of keeping Greece a member of Europe's single currency.

His remarks during a visit to Athens follow on from last week's admission from the IMF that the Greek rescue deal had failed to restructure the country's national debt early enough and overestimated the capacity of the Greek government to swiftly push through public sector and market reforms that had been neglected for decades.

A spat has since developed between the EU and the IMF, with the Washington-based institution also pressing Europeans to be more specific about any further debt relief that may be awarded Greece next year.

"It is true that the issues raised by the IMF are important ones," Juncker said. "There were mistakes. But who would not have made mistakes given the situation that Greece was in?"

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