EUROZONE-GREECE/GERMANY SCHAEUBLE Temporary Grexit had support in German govt. – Schaeuble

Record ID: 147191

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/GERMANY SCHAEUBLE Temporary Grexit had support in German govt. – Schaeuble
  • Date: 14th July 2015
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JULY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER, WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE, ARRIVING CAMERAS
  • Embargoed: 29th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4DXW233D051WASGTVF86E9GR5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A temporary Grexit presented in the German offer for Greece had broad support, including within the government, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday (July 14), without mentioning which fellow cabinet members also stood behind the proposition.
    "There are many people, including in the federal government, who are quite convinced that in the interests of Greece and the Greek people what we wrote down would have been a much better solution," Schaeuble said when asked about a German proposal on a "time-out" for Greece from the eurozone.
    Schaeuble said that the European monetary union has suffered a stark blow from the Greek crisis, and European nations must do everything in their power to reinforce the agreed solution to avoid further damage.
    "We should not fool ourselves about this- we (the eurozone) have lost credibility," Schaeuble said.
    "And that is why it is so important that we start implementing the points we have decided."
    Eurozone finance officials are struggling to find a way to give Greece bridge financing to keep the country afloat while a third bailout package is negotiated, especially to pay back loans owed to the European Central Bank next week.
    The pain for Greece continues, with bank closures and strict controls on withdrawals from cash machines squeezing businesses dry. A Greek trade federation called on the government to loosen such capital controls to allow companies to make payments owed to overseas vendors.
    "Until a successful end of the talks about a new program (...) the risks will solely remain in Greece," Schaeuble said.
    Lawmakers from Greece's ruling Syriza party and their allies were arguing behind closed doors about whether to back sweeping reforms the government must ram through parliament as it races to meet the terms of an unpopular bailout deal.
    Having staved off financial meltdown with a new agreement from Greece's creditors, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has less than 48 hours to smother dissent from hard-liners and pass measures tougher than those rejected in a referendum days ago.
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