BERLIN (MNI) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Friday
warned that a Greek default could lead to a breakup of the Eurozone and
signaled that Greece would get aid from its Eurozone peers also beyond
2014.
“The potential impact of a Greek default on the other Eurozone
states would be grave,” Schaeuble said in the Bundestag, the lower house
of parliament, ahead of a vote on the Greek bailout bill. “A process
could be set in motion at the end of which the whole Eurozone could
break up,” he said.
“The problems of Greece cannot be solved overnight,” the minister
conceded. “The [rescue] program will still run for two years and if
there should be further financial need, we already said one year ago
that we will give Greece further aid to regain market access.”
Schaeuble once again countered speculation about a possible haircut
on Greek bonds held by the public sector, arguing that this would be
“setting the wrong incentives.”
The minister said he expected that the planned Greek bond buyback
on secondary markets would reduce the country’s debt “significantly
further.”
The additional financial burden for Germany from the revised Greek
bailout package can be offset without the need for a supplementary
budget next year, Schaeuble said.
A broad majority in the Bundestag for the Greek bailout bill is
assured today, given that the main opposition parties have said they
will vote with the government camp.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@mni-news.com
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