German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble suggested the euro area could handle Greece dropping out, raising pressure on Greek political leaders struggling to form a government amid a rise in anti-bailout sentiment.
“We have learned a lot in the last two years and built in protective mechanisms,” Schaeuble told the Rheinische Post newspaper , when asked whether the euro area is girded for a Greek exit.
His comments were confirmed by the Finance Ministry in Berlin. “The risks of contagion for other countries of the euro zone have been reduced, and the euro zone as a whole has become more resistant,” Schaeuble said.
“The notion that we wouldn’t be able to react in a short time to something unforeseen is wrong.” “The future of Greece in the euro zone now lies in Greece’s hands,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a speech in the Lower House of Parliament in Berlin.
“Solidarity is not a one-way street” and aid to Greece can only be disbursed if Greece sticks to its part of the deal”.
(source: Rheinische Post, Capital)
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