Highlights: Euro zone finance ministers' meeting on Greece

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The following are comments by euro zone finance ministers and others as they met on Sunday to trigger a record bailout for debt-stricken Greece, as well as remarks from International Monetary Fund officials.

Athens committed itself to years of painful sacrifice to secure the unprecedented EU/IMF financial rescue.

IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN

"The Greek government has designed an ambitious policy package to address the economic crisis facing the nation."

"It is a multi-year programme which begins with substantial up-front efforts to correct Greece's grave fiscal imbalances, make the economy more competitive and -- over time -- restore growth and jobs. We believe these efforts, along with the government's firm commitment to implement them, will get the economy back on track and restore market confidence."

"We believe these strong measures by the Greek government, along with the significant risks of spillover to other countries, merit an exceptional level of access to IMF resources equivalent to 3,200 percent of Greece's quota in the Fund. This represents the largest access granted to a member country and it indicates the Fund's high level of support for the programme and for Greece."

"Our collective effort will contribute to the stability of the euro, will benefit all of Europe and will help to promote global financial stability and a secure recovery in the global economy."

IMF MISSION CHIEF TO GREECE, POUL THOMSEN, SPEAKING TO REPORTERS ON A CONFERENCE CALL:

"The strategy of the programme is first and foremost a large front-loaded fiscal adjustment to try to quickly restore market confidence and to restore financial stability as the country goes through what will be a very difficult period."

"We are not expecting GDP to get back, in nominal terms, ... before 2014. This is a reality of doing this kind of programme in a country that cannot change its exchange rate. It will take time for the supply side to respond so this would suggest we're looking at a multi-year effort of three to four years. It could take time for market confidence to return."

POUL THOMSEN ON FISCAL POLICIES ADOPTED UNDER THE PROGRAMME

"The objective is to quickly reduce the government deficit in order to return public debt to a sustainable path and improve market sentiment. The dilemma is of course that even with a very strong fiscal adjustment, the debt-to-GDP will rise from 115 percent in 2009 to about 150 percent in 2013, before it begins to drop. This will obviously be unsettling to markets, however, the sharp improvement in the non-interest balance that will turn positive in 2012, after a deficit of 8.6 percent in 2009, points to a rapid underlying improvement."

POUL THOMSEN ON GREEK BANKS

"The stress-tests show that there could be a need to inject capital so we're setting up a financial stability fund that will be funded from external financing, which will be operational in a couple of months."

"As far as liquidity is concerned, the situation is getting tighter, in particular in the last couple of weeks, but we do think the existing facilities of the ECB and the emergency facilities of the Bank of Greece ... should be adequate."

POUL THOMSEN ON HOW LONG IMF WILL BE INVOLVED IN GREECE

"I am confident that in three years when this programme is over, when the headline deficit is down, when we are running primary surpluses of 6 to 7 percent, and debt has declined steadily, ... markets will have confidence in Greece and there will be no need for an IMF programme."

POUL THOMSEN ON UNPRECEDENTED GREECE REFORMS

"This is one where there is clearly a need for very fundamental structural reform in the public sector but also to restore competitiveness. A loss of competitiveness of 25 percent since you joined the euro area, you have to do these reforms."

"Yes, there are more reforms here than in many other programmes, but what we are focusing on here is macro-structural, particularly in the fiscal sector but also in the financial sector."

POUL THOMSEN ON NEED FOR GREEK DEBT RESTRUCTURING

"That was never on the table. It has never been discussed."

GREEK FINANCE MINISTER GEORGE PAPACONSTANTINOU

"Images can be very powerful but also they can be misleading, a burning car does the rounds in a split second. There is no question that these are difficult measures and there's no question there will be protests, but people realize what it is necessary to do even if they have themselves to make sacrifices."

EU MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN

"Installments of financing will be made once the conditions of quarterly reviews have been met. It is very simple and very clear."

"We have part of the programme earmarked -- 10 billion euros -- to a financial stability fund for a possible need to stabilize the banking sector in Greece."

"That will depend on the ... situation and this may not have to be used but we are earmarking 10 billion euros out of this 110 billion euros to finance this stability fund."

EUROGROUP CHAIRMAN JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER

"The Eurogroup has taken a decision ... I'm sure that there's no question of the European Council going back on that decision."

"There's nothing extraordinary in the fact that Mr (European Union President Herman) Van Rompuy has convened a European Council on the 7th of May."

"The leaders of the euro area will inform each other about progress in parliamentary procedures and will discuss broadly views about ... the euro area."

EU MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN

On reviews of Greek progress:

"The first of these reviews will be conducted already before the summer break following the end of the second quarter of this year."

GREEK FINANCE MINISTER GEORGE PAPACONSTANTINOU

"We are fully aware that this is a programme that is not going to be easy, it is not going to be easy on Greek citizens despite the efforts that have been made and will continue to be made to protect the weakest in society. We are absolutely convinced that this is a necessary programme. We will be submitting tomorrow to the Greek parliament draft legislation which will include the entire programme over the next three-year period as well as specific measures for reductions in wages in the public sector, in pensions and increasing direct taxation which will have an immediate effect."

"It is an important day today. It is not an easy day but it is a day in which we have the commitment of the Greek government to do whatever it takes to bring the economy back in a sustainable band and the commitment of the euro zone members to safeguard the stability of the euro zone."

IRISH FINANCE MINISTER BRIAN LENIHAN

"Today's decision will help safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole and this stability will benefit all Eurozone member states. Over the past week almost all member states have seen the difficulties created by the present uncertainty.

"The Government is preparing national legislation to allow Ireland play its part in the provision of bilateral loans to Greece as part of this agreement. In order to access the bilaterals loans, the Greek Government must undertake an ambitious fiscal adjustment and they have also agreed to additional and important structural reforms."

"Ireland's share over the three year programme, which totals EUR110 billion and includes EUR80 billion from euro area countries, would be up to EUR1.3 billion."