European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said drachma clauses being inserted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) into new loan agreements with Greek companies are "unfortunate", as daily Kathimerini reports.

The Commission has put pressure on the lender to withdraw all clauses that relate to a possible Greek exit from the eurozone or the collapse of the euro area in general.

Its intervention appears to have borne fruit. According to sources, Rehn met this week with his Greek colleague, Maria Damanaki, and informed her of his personal disagreement with the EIB requirements.

He also reported that the bank's governor, Werner Hoyer, had promised that the the clauses will be removed from the agreements.

The same sources told Kathimerini that the Finnish commissioner branded the terms "bureaucratic" and the EIB's intention to impose them "unfortunate and incomprehensible."