German working group examining impact of Greek exit, report says
A working group led by Germany’s deputy finance minister is studying the possible economic impact of a Greek exit from the euro zone, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The Financial Times Deutschland newspaper, citing finance ministry sources, said the decision to set up the working group showed that Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble wanted to be fully prepared for a possible «negative scenario».
“Colleagues are making calculations about the financial consequences (of a Greek exit) and are considering how a domino effect on other euro member states might be prevented,» the daily quoted the ministry sources as saying.
The group, made up of around 10 officials from various departments of the finance ministry, is led by Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Steffen, a member of Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), the paper said.
Asked about the working group, a spokesman for Schaeuble told the newspaper the government had to be prepared for all scenarios, including «improbable ones».
[Reuters]
