France΄s European Affairs Minister Jean Leonetti Thursday said the euro zone can “do without” Greece, in an interview with French radio station RTL.
“Greece is something that we were able to deal with and, at the same time, something that we can do without,” Leonetti said.
He said the Greek economy represents 2% of the euro-zone gross domestic product and 4% of the currency bloc΄s debt.
The minister also said Greece cannot expect support from its euro-zone partners without budget discipline. “If Greece says that it does not want the plan, then it won΄t receive the money”, he said, adding that this would imply Greece would then go “bankrupt”.
Regarding the potential consequences for French banks, Leonetti said “we are told that French banks exposure to Greek debt is between EUR8 billion and EUR10 billion.”
(source: Dow Jones)
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