VALENCIA, Spain (MNI) – All the conflicting “noise” over the Greece
crisis has weakened the euro in foreign exchange markets and EU leaders
will hopefully reach an agreement this week on aid to the debt-stricken
Eurozone member, European Central Bank Governing Council member Miguel
Angel Fernandez Ordonez said Wednesday.
“The thousands of declarations in one direction, in the other,
expulsion [from the Eurozone], or no expulsion, the IMF…I think this
noise is causing enormous damage and you can see it in the markets,” an
exasperated Ordonez told reporters after a speech here.
“It’s not that the current level of the euro is worrying, but it is
clear that this has had an impact [on its exchange rate]. Is there any
room for doubt?” the Bank of Spain governor said.
He said he hoped EU leaders would agree on a plan to provide aid
for Greece which “meets European norms and principles.” He said it
shouldn’t be an “I give you everything” agreement, but should simply be
a plan that supports Greece to carry out “a fundamental effort that must
be done by Greeks and by Greece.”
He said Greece’s plan to cut its budget deficit, currently at 12.8%
of GDP, down to the EU limit of 3% within three years, was “a good plan,
a rigorous and exigent plan.”
It’s not a question of a “rescue” or “bailout,” he said, but simply
to support Greece in implementing the program it has committed to.
“The important thing is to get it done, and that we be in
agreement,” Ordonez said. “I think this is an example of the fact that
in Europe we can do things well, but the worst thing is when we make
noise. I think the noise must stop.”
[TOPICS: M$$EC$,MT$$$$,M$$CR$,MGX$$$,M$X$$$]
