Schaeuble rules out renegoiation of Greek bailout
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stressed on Wednesday that it was not possible to re-negotiate an international aid plan for Greece.
“This is an aid programme that was prepared down to the last detail, we cannot re-negotiate it,» Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio after Greek political leders said they were unable to form a new government, suggesting that new elections would be held.
“Greece must be ready to accept the aid» offered by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, Schaeuble said.
“Those who win the elections will have to decide if they accept the conditions or not,» he added.
Greeks voted in May 6 polls and dealt a sharp rebuke to mainstream parties that had negotiated with the so-called EU-IMF-ECB troika, implicitly rejecting stiff austerity measures in exchange for a second financial rescue package.
Schaeuble said EU members wanted Greece to remain in the 17-nation eurozone but underscored that it was «a sovereign decision by the Greek population.”
“Speculating about what Greece will choose does not help» matters either, the German minister said.
Schaeuble had raised concern last week when he said the eurozone could survive a Greek exit, a situation EU leaders refused to even consider a year ago.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande underscored their intention to help Greece stay in the eurozone and said they were mulling new measures to boost growth in the debt-striken country.
[AFP]
