* MEP and newspaper say Germany, France to buy Greek bonds
* German official denies report, no comment from Greeks
* Follows signs of diplomatic efforts to resolve crisis
(Recasts with MEP comments)
By Lefteris Papadimas
ATHENS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Germany, France and theNetherlands plan to buy Greek bonds to help Athens cope with asevere debt crisis, a German member of the European Parliamentsaid on Saturday.
The comments by MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis on Greek televisionechoed details of an aid plan that were reported by a leadingGreek newspaper on Saturday. That report was dismissed by asenior German government official as "nonsense".
"The plan is that Germany, France and the Netherlands willbuy Greek bonds," Chatzimarkakis, a German of Greek heritage,told Mega TV in an interview aired on Saturday evening.
"Germany is planning to buy immediately 5-7 billion euros(of bonds)," he said, adding that Germany"s state-owneddevelopment bank KfW and France"s state-owned bank Caisse desDepots were part of the deal and would buy Greek bonds.
It was unclear how Chatzimarkakis, who is not a high-profilepolitician in Germany, knew of the plan he described.
Earlier, Greek newspaper Ta Nea reported, citing unnamedbanking and official sources, that Germany and France -- it didnot mention the Netherlands -- planned to help Greece with itsdebt problems by buying bonds or providing guarantees via thesame state banks mentioned by Chatzimarkakis.
The report said French President Nicolas Sarkozy haddiscussed the plan by telephone with Greek Prime Minister GeorgePapandreou.
In return for the aid, the newspaper said the Greekgovernment had agreed to introduce additional austerity measuresworth some 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) to reach its target ofcutting the budget deficit by 4 percentage points this year.
The Greek finance ministry and the European Commissiondeclined to comment on the report, which came after signs of adiplomatic push to resolve Greece"s debt crisis. There was noimmediate comment from France"s government.
But the senior German official, who declined to be named,said there was no such agreement. "No, this report is nonsense,"the official said.
Nevertheless, a German parliamentary source told Reutersthat the government was quietly preparing emergency budgetprovisions for possible aid to Greece. The finance ministrydenied this.
With German public opinion strongly against aiding Greece,Chancellor Angela Merkel"s government has been reluctant tooffer any concrete monetary assistance, beyond a vague pledgethat it will take action "if needed" to protect financialstability in the euro zone.
CONTINGENCY PLANS
In private, however, senior German financial officials admitcontingency plans have been drawn up in case Berlin needs tointervene in Greece"s debt crisis, which has caused turmoil inEuropean markets and hurt confidence in the euro currency.
Sources in Germany"s ruling coalition told Reuters earlierthis month that the coalition was considering having KfW buyGreek bonds.
European Union inspectors visited Athens this week todiscuss the crisis. EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehnplans to visit Athens next week, and Ta Nea said Rehn wouldannounce the aid plan for Greece during his visit.
Papandreou said on Friday that he would visit Berlin fortalks with Merkel on March 5, while Deutsche Bank ChiefExecutive Josef Ackermann met Papandreou in Athens on Friday.
Media reports in Germany and France have suggestedgovernments in the 16-country euro zone might offer aid worth atotal of 20 to 25 billion euros to Greece. Officials havedeclined to comment on the size of any aid plan.
Greece, which is preparing to tap the euro debt market withits second bond issue this year, has said its funding needs aremet until mid-March, and it will need to refinance about 20billion euros of debt maturing in April and May. Markets worrythat Greece may not be able to borrow at affordable rates. (1 euro = $1.36) (Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander in Athens, MatthiasSobolewski in Berlin, Astrid Wendlandt in Paris and Foo Yun Cheein Brussels; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Noah Barkin)
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