Germany working on plan to keep Greece in euro, Die Zeit says
Germany is working on a plan to keep Greece in the euro area if a failure by the Greek government to make creditor payments triggers a halt to European Central Bank funding, the German weekly Die Zeit said.
The plan would allow Greek banks to maintain a cash lifeline to the ECB, Die Zeit reported, without saying how it obtained the information. Greece would have to display cooperation and readiness to implement reforms to qualify, the newspaper said in an article posted on its website Wednesday.
Should that scenario fail, Germany would be willing to accept a Greek exit from the monetary union, according to the newspaper. In that case, Greece could still benefit from European Union assistance through a transition period, it said.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government is struggling to secure cash for government operations as the 19- country euro area demands that it stick to its bailout obligations in return for funds to keep the nation afloat. [Bloomberg]
