BERLIN (MNI) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday warned
against expectations there could be a swift solution to the Eurozone
sovereign debt crisis.
“The euro crisis has built up over the 10 years that this currency
exists…and it will now also take several years to get the system in
order again,” Merkel said in a discussion with international students
here.
Calls for “one big-bang solution” go in the wrong direction, she
argued: “It is human for people want that, but I believe it won’t work.”
The chancellor pointed to existing crisis-fighting tools in Europe,
reaffirming that Germany backs the use of these instruments if need be.
“Given the current difficulties, it is important to stress that we
have created the instruments of support in the Eurozone, and Germany is
ready to work with these instruments whenever necessary,” she said.
“This is an expression of our firm will to keep the Eurozone stable.”
Commenting on Greece, Merkel argued that than any financial aid was
now secondary to the need to convince the Greeks that the consolidation
and reform path the country has embarked on will work.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking at the same event,
reaffirmed his opposition to a financial transaction tax in the EU.
“A financial transaction tax, in my view, would drive a lot of
financial services to whatever country didn’t have them and that would
be bad policy, because it would mean fewer jobs and would be bad for our
economies,” Cameron said.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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