Speaking to FRANCE 24, Barroso said eurozone countries, including Germany, would be ready to extend aid to Greece - if asked. "Germany is ready in case Greece needs it, and so far Greece has not asked for financial support," he said. ... The Greek debt crisis has strained relations between EU member states, most notably between France and Germany. In a statement that sparked howls of protest from many eurozone members earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for eurozone countries that do not meet the criteria of stability to be excluded from the 16-member grouping. Merkel is very reluctant to pay out significant sums for other eurozone countries economic problems as it would play very badly domestically in Germany. But in his interview with FRANCE 24, Barroso dismissed the idea of kicking out eurozone members. "I do not comment on other's comments," he stressed. "What I can tell you is the position of the Commission...currently, excluding a member state from the eurozone is not possible. It's absurd." He also said the euro area was "ready to take all the necessary measures" to guarantee Greece's financial stability.
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The Greek debt crisis has strained relations between EU member states, most notably between France and Germany.
In a statement that sparked howls of protest from many eurozone members earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for eurozone countries that do not meet the criteria of stability to be excluded from the 16-member grouping. Merkel is very reluctant to pay out significant sums for other eurozone countries economic problems as it would play very badly domestically in Germany.
But in his interview with FRANCE 24, Barroso dismissed the idea of kicking out eurozone members. "I do not comment on other's comments," he stressed. "What I can tell you is the position of the Commission...currently, excluding a member state from the eurozone is not possible. It's absurd."
He also said the euro area was "ready to take all the necessary measures" to guarantee Greece's financial stability.
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that Germany is open to European Union aid to Greece and denounced what she called "superficial" European solidarity that doesn't face up to the need for fiscal discipline. Merkel said no decision has been made about whether to use EU aid to Greece or to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund. A government spokesman today confirmed her statement, which was reported by Deutsche Presse Agentur, citing an interview with broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Merkel's government said yesterday it wouldn't rule out financial assistance from the IMF, while Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's spokesman expressed "great reservation" about aid from the Washington-based fund. The comments underscored the struggle within Merkel's government on how Europe's biggest economy should react to the Greek budget crisis, five days before European leaders hold a summit in Brussels. Public opposition to bailouts for Greece has escalated in Germany, the biggest stakeholder in the European Central Bank and main contributor to the EU budget. The German government today sought to play down divisions between Merkel and Schaeuble, denying a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the finance minister ordered his staff not to communicate with chancellery officials without his consent.
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that Germany is open to European Union aid to Greece and denounced what she called "superficial" European solidarity that doesn't face up to the need for fiscal discipline.
Merkel said no decision has been made about whether to use EU aid to Greece or to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund. A government spokesman today confirmed her statement, which was reported by Deutsche Presse Agentur, citing an interview with broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
Merkel's government said yesterday it wouldn't rule out financial assistance from the IMF, while Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's spokesman expressed "great reservation" about aid from the Washington-based fund.
The comments underscored the struggle within Merkel's government on how Europe's biggest economy should react to the Greek budget crisis, five days before European leaders hold a summit in Brussels. Public opposition to bailouts for Greece has escalated in Germany, the biggest stakeholder in the European Central Bank and main contributor to the EU budget.
The German government today sought to play down divisions between Merkel and Schaeuble, denying a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the finance minister ordered his staff not to communicate with chancellery officials without his consent.
"The Greek crisis is turning into a perilous trial for the eurozone and the European Union," reports La Tribune, headlining with the widening "Greek rift" between Paris and Berlin. The latest knockback: Angela Merkel's reaction to the ultimatum laid down by Greek prime minister Georges Papandreou. If Europeans haven't come up with a solution to the Greek problem by 2 April, Athens will turn to the IMF for deliverance. But "the idea is alluring to Angela Merkel because it would obviate the need for European aid, the bulk of which would be shouldered by Germany", explains the daily. So that would satisfy her electorate. Furthermore, "by refusing to untie the purse strings, Angela Merkel is forcing Sarkozy to be more receptive to the German vision of economic and monetary union". Last week French finance minister Christine Lagarde had brushed aside the idea of a "European Monetary Fund", a tougher version of the Stability Pact, put forward by her German opposite number, Wolfgang Schäuble. "The IMF option that Berlin is keeping on the table is raising the stakes of economic governance...and mounting the pressure on Paris, which has been conspicuously silent on the subject these past few days," concludes La Tribune.
"The Greek crisis is turning into a perilous trial for the eurozone and the European Union," reports La Tribune, headlining with the widening "Greek rift" between Paris and Berlin. The latest knockback: Angela Merkel's reaction to the ultimatum laid down by Greek prime minister Georges Papandreou. If Europeans haven't come up with a solution to the Greek problem by 2 April, Athens will turn to the IMF for deliverance. But "the idea is alluring to Angela Merkel because it would obviate the need for European aid, the bulk of which would be shouldered by Germany", explains the daily. So that would satisfy her electorate. Furthermore, "by refusing to untie the purse strings, Angela Merkel is forcing Sarkozy to be more receptive to the German vision of economic and monetary union".
Last week French finance minister Christine Lagarde had brushed aside the idea of a "European Monetary Fund", a tougher version of the Stability Pact, put forward by her German opposite number, Wolfgang Schäuble. "The IMF option that Berlin is keeping on the table is raising the stakes of economic governance...and mounting the pressure on Paris, which has been conspicuously silent on the subject these past few days," concludes La Tribune.
