Schaeuble ‘optimistic’ Greece will remain in eurozone
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has told Sunday?s Kathimerini that he is ?optimistic? that Greece will remain in the eurozone.
Kathimerini correspondent Xenia Kounalaki spoke briefly to Schauble at the sidelines of an event in Potsdam this week and the German minister appeared upbeat about Greece?s prospects.
?If Greece fulfils its commitments, of course I?m optimistic it will remain in the eurozone,? he said. ?I?m always optimistic.?
Schaeuble refused to be drawn on the issue of a possible extension to the Greek program, which was not discussed when Prime Minister Antonis Samaras held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkal and French President Francois Hollande recently.
?You are putting to me an issue that not even your prime minister raised during his visits to Paris and Berlin because he knew what the answer would be: We are waiting for the troika?s report,? he said.
Earlier this week, Schaeuble said he believed the eurozone would still have 17 members next year.
“I expect that the euro zone will still exist in the same form next year as now, with all 17 (member states),» Schaeuble told rbb-Inforadio.
Schaeuble said in the radio interview that he expected the euro would be «a bit more stable» next year but that it would take time to rebuild the trust of investors.
He added that Greece?s case was unique. We had to implement completely extraordinary, unique measures for Greece – a haircut of more than 50 percent, two aid programmes of a size that we have never before seen in the history of the IMF,» he said.
“The Greek problems are completely unique and that’s why Greece’s burdens are very big.”
