THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will not contribute any further aid to debt-ridden Greece, but Athens could be given more time to get its finances on an even keel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday.
"Two major rescue packages have been agreed on for Greece," said Rutte, who represented his People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) during a live televised debate, eight days ahead of Dutch elections.
"I would be against that," Rutte said in the encounter held in Amsterdam, but he added: "Greece could get extra time, provided it doesn't cost extra money."
Dutch party leaders were discussing the euro crisis among other issues ahead of September 12 parliamentary elections when voters will go to the polls for the second time in two years to choose a new government.
Rutte's pro-business, liberal VVD is leading in opinion polls and should it win, Rutte was likely to continue as the country's prime minister.
The outgoing Dutch parliament gave Europe's long-term debt rescue plan the green light in May, despite strenuous opposition from both left and right-wing parties who oppose handing more money to Brussels.
The 500-billion-euro ($628 billion) ESM was set up as a permanent rescue fund to ease pressure on indebted eurozone nations like Greece, which has been bailed out twice with the help of the EU and IMF, and so prevent contagion across the eurozone.
The Netherlands will provide 40 billion euros of the ESM's funding, comprising about 4.6 billion euros paid over five years and more than 35 billion euros more in guarantees.
The Dutch government fell in April after far-right politician Geert Wilders walked out of talks with Rutte's coalition government over budget cuts, prompting the premier to throw in the towel a few days later and call fresh polls.
September 12 is also a crucial day for the ESM with the Constitutional Court in Germany -- Europe's largest economy -- to decide whether German President Joachim Gauck can sign into law the eurozone's key crisis-fighting tool.
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