EU's Rehn: Greece will not default

Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told a conference in Brussels that Greek default was not an issue, saying: There will be no default.

Rehn said he believed Germany was fully committed to doing its part to help Greece, if Greece requests financial assistance, despite the threat of a challenge to the aid package via Germany's courts.

The 16 countries that share the euro single currency agreed the details last week of how they would help Greece if required, including providing bilateral loans in proportion to their economic weight in the euro zone.

Germany would be expected to provide around 8.4 billion euros, according to the package, which will total around 45 billion euros -- 30 billion from the eurozone and 15 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

I have no reason to doubt the German commitment if needed and if aid were to be requested, Rehn said, despite the possibility of a legal challenge in Germany to German involvement in the bailout mechanism.

Rehn also reiterated his intention to give more teeth to repeatedly breached rules on budget discipline and increase economic surveillance across the bloc to avoid any repeat of the fiscal crisis suffered by Greece.