BERLIN (MNI) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that
Greece’s fiscal problems must not be allowed to turn into another
Lehman-like crisis.
“If the stability of the euro is endangered then every country, and
also Germany, feels the responsibility” to counter this, Merkel said at
a joint press conference with the heads of the main international
organisations.
The Chancellor declined to comment on reports that the need for
financial aid for Greece would amount to E135 billion over the next
three years. “Let us talk about numbers when the [Greek budget
consolidation] program has been negotiated,” she said.
IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said at the same press
conference, “it is almost obvious” that Greece will agree with the Fund,
the ECB and the EU Commission on a budget consolidation program.
Asked if he thought that the recent downgrading of Greece was
justified, Strauss-Kahn said “one shouldn’t believe too much what
[rating agencies] say.”
Commenting on the recovery of advanced economies, Strauss-Kahn
noted that the IMF’s base scenario is not for a double dip recession,
but still this risk cannot be fully ruled out. “One should be very
cautious — the crisis is not totally behind us,” he said.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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