Thursday, January 8, 2015

EU Parliament Slams “Irresponsible” Speculation over “Grexit”

1/8/2015

BERLIN – European Parliament President Martin Schulz on Wednesday described speculations about a possible Greek exit from the Eurozone as irresponsible, stressing that this issue is beyond debate.

“The irresponsible debate and speculation about possible scenarios over a ‘Grexit’ (a Greek exit from the Eurozone) is not helping,” said the head of the EP, according to German daily Die Welt, adding that it must be clear to everyone that a euro exit is not to be debated.

He warned against making comments on the upcoming Greek elections from within European Union institutions that may leave Greeks with a feeling that they are not the ones who decide their own fate, but rather Brussels or Berlin, which could throw voters into the arms of radical forces.

The German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the German government was considering the possibility of Greece’s exit from the Eurozone, in case the left-wing coalition Syriza, helmed by Alexis Tsipras, won the Jan. 25 elections.

According to Schulz, the debate opened by Der Spiegel probably will not only not prevent a Syriza victory, but could probably even benefit the leftist anti-austerity bloc.

Meanwhile, German daily Bild also affirmed on Wednesday that the German government is considering concrete strategies for a possible Greek exit from the euro area.

According to the newspaper, which cited unnamed government sources, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s executive has been running scenarios for different outcomes in the Greek elections, including a Syriza victory at the polls.

Government experts were concerned about a possible bank collapse in the event that clients were to storm Greek institutions to secure euro deposits if Greece left the Eurozone, according to Bild.

The German government, meanwhile, has refused to confirm or deny the reports published by Der Spiegel. 


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