Greek crisis has been 'defused': ECB board member

VIENNA: A European bailout pledge has helped defuse the Greek financial crisis and should prevent Greece from becoming a target for market speculators, Austrian central bank Chief Ewald Nowotny said on Tuesday.

Europe's decision to provide a financial rescue package for debt-stricken Greece, "has clearly defused what is a very difficult situation," said Nowoty, who sits on the European Central Bank's decision-making board of governors.

The ECB welcomed the decision, which the central bank saw as a way of "helping Greece to help itself," he told.

It would help counter financial market speculation against Greece, Nowotny added.

"We are convinced that this goal can be achieved," he said.

At the weekend, Greece's 15 euro partners offered to lend Athens 30 billion euros (41 billion dollars) this year at a preferential rate in order to calm fears of a default.

And in a key test of its credibility on Tuesday, a new issue of short-term treasury bills by the Greek government was oversubscribed, raising 1.56 billion euros in all for Greece, above the originally targeted 1.2 billion euros.