ECB chief hopes Greek rescue plan will not be activated.

BRUSSELS, March 26 (Itar-Tass) -- The financial rescue mechanism for
Greece agreed by euro zone leaders on Thursday is workable but unlikely to
be activated, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet hopes.
"I am extraordinarily happy that the government of the euro area found
a workable solution," Trichet told a news conference.
"I am confident that the mechanism decided today will normally not
need to be activated and that Greece will progressively regain the
confidence of the market," he said.
European Union's President Herman Van Rompuy agreed. "We hope that it
will not have to be activated. This would be triggered as a last resort,"
he said adding the bailout should tell markets to "have confidence that
the euro zone will never abandon Greece."
The agreed mechanism is a mix of International Monetary Fund money and
loans from the euro zone estimated at 20-22 billion euros.
Trichet said the involvement of the IMF in the mechanism did not
infringe on the independence of the ECB and left euro zone government
responsibilities unchanged.
"The independence of the central bank is sacrosanct and nobody is
putting that into question for one second," he said.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said involving the
IMF had been the only way to reach a consensus.
"We have solved this in the European family," he said. "I think this
is the right decision at this time to face what is an exceptional problem."