Eurogroup won't discuss ways to help Greece-sources

BRUSSELS Feb 12 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers, will not discuss specific ways of supporting Greece in their meeting on Monday, five euro zone sources preparing the meeting said on Friday.

"No. Very definitely not. It is too early," one senior euro zone source with insight into the Eurogroup meeting said.

The ministers will instead put pressure on Greece to implement the measures it has already announced to reduce its huge budget gap, because the ministers were convinced that if they were fully translated into action, no euro zone rescue measures would be necessary.

There has been some market speculation that the ministers might agree on specific aid steps at their meeting, but a second euro zone source described this as "a misunderstanding".

"It is impossible to discuss something at the ministers' level without preparation, having something written down on paper, etc. I have no knowledge of any such preparations," the second euro zone source said.

"I have seen a lot of headlines that ministers will discuss the specific measures and I am worried because I don't think anything is being prepared."

EU leaders said in a statement on Thursday that Greece needed to do what it had promised to reduce its 12.7 percent budget gap, including a 4 percentage point cut in 2010 to bring down its deficit below the EU ceiling o 3 percent in 2012.

But they also said the euro zone would take determined and coordinated action, if needed, to safeguard financial stability in the euro area as a whole, sending a signal to markets that they would not let Greece default on its debt.

Euro zone sources pointed out the leaders' statement gave no mandate to the Eurogroup to go any further with preparations of support for Greece.

"No detailed plan will be discussed. There is no urgency yet," a third euro zone source said, adding the situation in Greece was not that bad yet.

Euro zone sources said no discussions on detailed rescue options for Greece have so far been held and probably would not be until there was a crisis, so as not to send a signal that Greece needed help now.

Sources said that if a Greek debt crisis were to happen, rescue steps could be arranged quickly, as the rescue measures for euro zone bank bailouts were.

"Eurogroup phone conferences like the one Wednesday can be arranged at a very short notice," the second source said.

Euro zone finance ministers held a teleconference on Wednesday ahead of the Thursday summit of EU leaders to prepare a common position that would allow the formulation of the final summit statement.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Ron Askew)