JAPAN: European Union top economic official is happy about Nobel Prize but says financial and debt problems remain, while European Central Bank says it won't finance Greece

Record ID: 466680

  • Title: JAPAN: European Union top economic official is happy about Nobel Prize but says financial and debt problems remain, while European Central Bank says it won't finance Greece
  • Date: 13th October 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 12, 2012) (REUTERS) EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN WALKING INTO ROOM REHN BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN UNION (EU) ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER, OLLI REHN, SAYING: "I guess we have to talk about the financial and debt crisis even if it's been a great day for Europe thanks to the Nobel Peace prize, which was awarded for the European union for peace and reconciliation over the past 60 years. It's a great day for every European and all Europeans, but of course we have our everyday problems as well." CLOSE-UP OF REHN'S EYES (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER, OLLI REHN, SAYING: "My reading of the decision of the committee, the Norwegian committee of the Nobel peace prize, indeed is directed toward encouraging Europe to secure the achievements so far of peace and reconciliation, of democracy and human rights, prosperity and welfare, and to move forward to solve Europe's problems with determination and thus ensure a better future for all Europeans." REHN BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER, OLLI REHN, SAYING: "Economic and physical policies of Spain are now on the right track. At the same time, it's a matter of the Spanish government to see whether they need support and breathing space in order to see it through the reforms and see also the impact in the economy." CLOSE-UP OF REHN'S HANDS EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK BOARD MEMBER BENOIT COEURE BEING INTERVIEWED COEURE'S EYES (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK (ECB) BOARD MEMBER, BENOIT COEURE, SAYING: "Let me be clear that if more time is given to Greece, more money will be needed. And this will not be the role of the ECB to provide this money, as the ECB is not in the business of financing governments. This is forbidden under the EU treaty, so there will be no rescheduling, for instance, of ECB claims over Greece because this would be direct financing of the Greek government. So giving more time can be useful insofar as it increases the likelihood that the program will be a success, but money will have to be found by European governments." COEURE BEING INTERVIEWED
  • Embargoed: 28th October 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7MCKM5MNT4TLVY6B2KD3NSM2X
  • Story Text: On the day that the European Union received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace, democracy and human rights over six decades, its top economic official says he was happy about the award but worried about the bloc's struggle to resolve its economic crisis.
    EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Friday (October 12) that there were still tough issues to be dealt with, after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union in recognition for the bloc's role as the 'biggest peacemaker in history'.
    "I guess we have to talk about the financial and debt crisis even if it's been a great day for Europe thanks to the Nobel Peace prize, which was awarded for the European union for peace and reconciliation over the past 60 years. It's a great day for every European and all Europeans, but of course we have our everyday problems as well," said Rehn.
    Rehn said the prize was a moral boost for the everyday European struggling through the financial crisis.
    "My reading of the decision of the committee, the Norwegian committee of the Nobel peace prize, indeed is directed toward encouraging Europe to secure the achievements so far of peace and reconciliation, of democracy and human rights, prosperity and welfare, and to move forward to solve Europe's problems with determination and thus ensure a better future for all Europeans," Rehn added.
    He also touched on Spain and whether they should look to seek external support in order to give enough funding to push through their own reforms.
    There is a sense among many euro zone policymakers that Spain should ask for assistance sooner rather than later to avoid a build-up of market pressures that could make it harder to meet its fiscal consolidation and structural reform targets.
    "Economic and physical policies of Spain are now on the right track. At the same time, it's a matter of the Spanish government to see whether they need support and breathing space in order to see it through the reforms and see also the impact in the economy," said Rehn.
    For Greece - another Euro zone problem spot - European Central Bank (ECB) member Benoit Coeure said that while giving Athens two more years to achieve its primary budget surplus, originally set for 2014, could help, it would also require extra funding.
    "Let me be clear that if more time is given to Greece, more money will be needed. And this will not be the role of the ECB to provide this money, as the ECB is not in the business of financing governments. This is forbidden under the EU treaty, so there will be no rescheduling, for instance, of ECB claims over Greece because this would be direct financing of the Greek government. So giving more time can be useful insofar as it increases the likelihood that the program will be a success, but money will have to be found by European governments," said Coeure.
    International lenders and Greece are negotiating the terms on which they will resume an emergency lending programme for Athens, after two general elections in May and June delayed agreed structural and fiscal reforms on which loans were based.
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