By Angelika Papamiltiadou
ATHENS (MNI) – Greece’s Finance Minister Wednesday strongly
suggested that other euro area governments are pushing for Greece to
leave the monetary union.
“There are a lot of Eurozone members that don’t want us anymore,
and we have to convince them that we can stay within the Eurozone and
regain the lost ground – that we can be equal and competitive,”
Venizelos said in televised remarks to Greek president Karolos
Papoulias.
“It is extremely difficult because there are many who are playing
with fire. They are playing with fire both domestically and abroad,” the
finance minister added. “Some play with torches, some with matches. But
the danger is equally big. Unfortunately we are facing tragic dilemmas:
sacrifices and cuts or economic disaster. That is why we have to say the
whole true to the Greek people, as to the dangers and the reasons that
led us here.”
The finance minister’s strongly worded comments come less than one
day after a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers that had been
scheduled for later today was abruptly cancelled by Eurogroup President
Jean-Claude Juncker because of ongoing disagreements between Greece and
its official lenders and, increasingly, among the Eurozone governments
themselves.
As Market News International reported late last week, ten of the
Eurozone’s 17 member states are reluctant to sign off on a new bailout
package for Greece, which would be at least E130 billion, because they
don’t trust Greek leaders to implement the austerity measures required
in exchange for the lifeline and fear they are increasingly throwing
good money after bad.
A hard core of countries, led by Germany, the Netherlands and
Finland, are pushing for a full-fledged default rather than the private
sector debt reduction plan currently on the table. And in private, there
is increasing talk of Greece exiting the Eurozone.
–Athens Bureau, a_papamiltiadou@hotmail.com
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