Germany rules out another ‘haircut’ for Greece
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman ruled out on Monday a further debt restructuring, or «haircut,» for Greece and said Athens must press on with tough economic reforms.
“A new haircut is out of the question for the German government,» spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference.
Leading German economic institutes said last week that Greece could not be saved without further debt restructuring. The International Monetary Fund has also said official lenders such as Germany should take a «haircut» along the lines of that accepted by private bondholders earlier this year.
Seibert reiterated Germany’s wish to keep Greece in the eurozone but said Athens must persevere with painful austerity measures aimed at cutting its heavy debt load and improving its economic competitiveness. [Reuters]
