BERLIN (MNI) - The following is the first part of a verbatim text of a joint press release by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and World Bank President Robert Zoellick:

BERLIN (MNI) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed Wednesday that Germany will decide on aid for Greece once the Greek budget consolidation program has been agreed with the European Commission, the IMF and the ECB.

Speaking after a meeting with IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn here, Merkel said she expected the negotiations over the Greek budget consolidation steps to be finished in the next days.

LONDON (MNI) - The recent sell-off in the euro has seen vols move sharply higher.

The continued problems in Greece and the lack of details surrounding the IMF/European aid package has seen investors taking their money off the table and become risk averse.

Investor sentiment is reflected by the blowout in vols with 1-month euro ATM is at 12.55 Wednesday against 10.60 24 hours earlier.

BRUSSELS (MNI) - There is no change in the amount of bilateral loans being offered to Greece by Eurozone countries, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Eurozone member states and the International Monetary Fund have offered Greece an aid package worth up to E45 billion this year and more in subsequent years, but reports Wednesday said that the amount could be higher.

BRUSSELS (MNI) - Credit ratings agencies are expected to act responsibly, taking all information in to account, the European Commission said on Wednesday in an apparent criticism of the power that ratings agencies wield over the financial markets.

"We would expect all credit ratings agencies to be responsible and to carry out their ratings in a...responsible way," a spokeswoman for Internal Markets Commissioner Chantal Hughes said.

BRUSSELS (MNI) - Debt restructuring is not an option for Greece or any other Eurozone member state, because a political decision has been taken to exclude it, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Eurozone member states and the International Monetary Fund have offered Greece an aid package worth up to E45 billion this year, but many market participants speculate that a restructuring of the southern European country's debt -- E273 billion and growing -- will ultimately be necessary.

LONDON, Apr. 28 (MNI) - Risk aversion continued through Asia and into early European trade Wednesday, as markets reacted further to Tuesday's decision by S&P to downgrade Greece and Portugal.

However, Europe failed to extend earlier Asian lows of $1.3144 given anticipation of progress to be seen at today's German parliament meeting with the IMF and ECB providing some buoyancy off lows.

Rate traded around $1.3200 into early New York, though off reported resistance at $1.3220.

LONDON, Apr. 28 (MNI) - Risk aversion, following on from Tuesday's S&P ratings cut for Greece and Portugal, continued through Asia and into European morning trade Wednesday with sterling extending its corrective pullback on feared contagion.

Cable pushed to a low of $1.5146, while euro-sterling edged back to challenge resistance ahead of stg0.8700, which capped Tuesday's recovery.