WSJ - BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
Friday she wants to keep Greece in the euro zone through a tough regime of
painful austerity even as Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made an
impassioned appeal that after six years of recession his beleaguered country
needs air to breathe. The two leaders were speaking after talks in the Berlin
chancellery, capping a week in which Berlin and Athens exchanged verbal blows in
the media over whether Greece should be allowed to slow down its efforts to
overhaul its economy and cut its deficit. Mr. Samaras has argued in a series of
high-profile interviews that Greece needs time to get its economy growing again,
but Ms. Merkel insists that Greece must stick to its commitments. Follow every
article, blog post, video and tweet on the debt crisis from our reporters across
Europe."I want Greece to remain a part of the euro zone and that's what I am
working on," said Ms. Merkel. "We expect from Greece that the promises that were
made are implemented, that actions follow words." Mr. Samaras commented angrily
about the "toxic statements" from some German politicians who have called on
Greece to leave the euro zone. He said such comments only added to the wariness
of investors and made it harder for Greece to carry out privatizations, a
necessary source of revenue to cut Greece's debt. He promised that Greece would
fulfill the obligations it made six months ago in exchange for a €173 billion
($217.36 billion) bailout, but added it would only be possible if the Greek
economy starts growing again.
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Monday, August 27, 2012
WSJ - BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
Friday she wants to keep Greece in the euro zone through a tough regime of
painful austerity even as Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made an
impassioned appeal that after six years of recession his beleaguered country
needs air to breathe. The two leaders were speaking after talks in the Berlin
chancellery, capping a week in which Berlin and Athens exchanged verbal blows in
the media over whether Greece should be allowed to slow down its efforts to
overhaul its economy and cut its deficit. Mr. Samaras has argued in a series of
high-profile interviews that Greece needs time to get its economy growing again,
but Ms. Merkel insists that Greece must stick to its commitments. Follow every
article, blog post, video and tweet on the debt crisis from our reporters across
Europe."I want Greece to remain a part of the euro zone and that's what I am
working on," said Ms. Merkel. "We expect from Greece that the promises that were
made are implemented, that actions follow words." Mr. Samaras commented angrily
about the "toxic statements" from some German politicians who have called on
Greece to leave the euro zone. He said such comments only added to the wariness
of investors and made it harder for Greece to carry out privatizations, a
necessary source of revenue to cut Greece's debt. He promised that Greece would
fulfill the obligations it made six months ago in exchange for a €173 billion
($217.36 billion) bailout, but added it would only be possible if the Greek
economy starts growing again.
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"Everyone should weigh well the words." He said Chancellor Angela Merkel in an interview with German television Ard on requests for release of Athens euro by the CSU.
"There's a lot at stake when we talk about Greece," said German Chancellor, who invited to ponder the words, after some members of the coalition parties, still have speculated on the output of Athens Euro.
Merkel replied in these terms the statement of the Secretary General of the party Christian Social Union (CDU Bavarian ally) Alexander Dobrindt that, in an interview with Bild am Sonntag, said: "I see Greece out of the eurozone in 2013."
Germany's Finance Ministry is concerned the new ECB plan could endanger the bank's independence, Der Spiegel said.
As a condition for ECB support, a country will first have to seek an aid programme from the eurozone's bailout funds. This is subject to approval by finance ministers, and central bankers are worried this makes their action dependent on politicians.
To avert this risk, German finance ministry officials were exploring an option where Spain or Italy would make a commitment on economic reforms to the European Commission – an unelected body – as a condition for ECB support, rather than accepting an aid programme from the bailout funds, Der Spiegel said.
Weidmann, who reflects the broad antagonism inside Angela Merkel's right wing coalition against further bailouts, said: "In democracies, it is parliaments and not central banks that should decide on such a comprehensive pooling of risks."
He did not see an immediate inflation threat from the new bond-buying programme, but added: "If monetary policy allows itself to become a comprehensive political problem solver, its real goal risks moving further and further into the background."
Weidmann warned against tieing the ECB "to guarantee keeping member states in the eurozone at any price."
On Greece's position in the bloc, he said it was important that "no further damage to trust in the framework of the currency union arises, and that the economic policy requirements of the aid programme retain their credibility."
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