BERLIN - Germany and the European Union were at loggerheads Friday after government officials said Berlin can't rule out financial aid for Greece from the International Monetary Fund, a solution Brussels is keen to avoid. EU leaders will meet next week to find a deal to help Greece, but Germany, which has the 16-nation eurozone's biggest economy, has been reluctant to pledge any direct financial aid. On Thursday, Greece warned it would be forced to turn to the IMF for help, which would be an embarrassment for the single currency bloc, if the EU fails to extend any concrete support package to help reduce its market borrowing rates. A European or IMF backstop would be aimed at reassuring markets and bringing down the high rates demanded from Greece as it seeks to borrow some euro54 billion this year to plug its budget gap. "We haven't ruled out IMF financial assistance," Ulrich Wilhelm, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, told reporters. "This question is open." However, he stressed that "decisions have not been taken and decisions are not pending." Greece hasn't asked for financial support, and "we trust and believe that Greece can resolve its problems itself with its consolidation efforts," Wilhelm said. A Greek default would be a serious blow to the euro, but Germany in particular has resisted putting up money to bail Greece out of years of overspending. Other European countries, however, seem more willing to extend aid, possibly in the form of bilateral loans, if needed. "What we believe we should have now is as soon as possible some kind of mechanism prepared just in case," EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told France 24 TV. In Brussels, the Commission was at pains to point out that Merkel committed to a "European" solution to the Greek financial crisis only last month.
