First Destroying, then Expelling Greece from Eurozone? Germany’s Finance Minister Shaeuble on Behalf of Creditors

By Defend Democracy Press
Global Research, February 27, 2017
Defend Democracy Press 21 February 2017
Region:
Theme:

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Wednesday brought back the Grexit issue by saying that unless Greece implements reforms it cannot stay in the euro zone.

The German finance minister spoke to the country’s broadcaster ARD in light of the stalled negotiations between Greece and creditors over the bailout program review and the recent International Monetary Fund report that calls for a Greek debt haircut in order to make it sustainable.

“The pressure on Greece to undertake reforms must be maintained so that it becomes competitive, otherwise they can’t remain in the currency area,” Schaeuble said, referring to fiscal measures needed such as further pension and wage cuts and the widening of the tax base.

Schaeuble reiterated his position that Greece’s problem is not the amount of the sovereign debt but the lack of competitiveness in Greek economy and the need for structural reforms. Thereby, a debt cut will not solve the country’s problems. Furthermore, a debt haircut is not allowed within the euro zone.

“We can’t undertake a debt haircut for a member of the European single currency, it’s ruled out by the Lisbon Treaty. For that, Greece would have to exit the currency area,” he told ARD.

Greece should quit eurozone, get debt relief, German party leader says

Greece should leave the eurozone and then be given debt relief, the head of Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) told a German radio station on Thursday. Greece should, however, remain in the European Union, FDP leader Christian Lindner told Deutschlandfunk, so it can get subsidies to put into infrastructure or help small- and medium-sized businesses.

“It’s clear that Greece needs to have its debts written off,” Lindner said. “Greece’s debts can only be written off outside of the eurozone, so we’re talking about Grexit.”
Articles by: Defend Democracy Press

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]