what is going on with Greece
Who said what in the last week
What is going on with Greece?
26/08/2013 - 5:38pm
It's been almost a week since the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, fanned the flamed of a third bailout package for Greece while on the campaign trail. Since then Greece has been high up on the European news agenda. Today Schaeuble's Greek counterpart, Yiannis Stournaras, told a German paper Athens might renegotiate its bailout.
NE takes a look at who has said what over the last few days, trying to make sense of an issue that will apparently dominatethe weeks leading up to Germany's September 22 general election.
In the previous months there was talk in Greece of a second haircut which many said would happen after the German election and pave the wave for a general election to be held in Greece itself. In spring 2012 private holders of Greek debt suffered a haircut of the products they held. Another bailout would most probably would involve a haircut of debt held by sovereign lenders.
GERMANY
Wolfgang Schaeuble, Finance Minister
"There will have to be another program in Greece" because there will be a shortfall
"If the financial markets believe that another debt writedown is coming, then we will quickly see general anxiety surrounding euro zone debt," said Schauble explaining why he chose to open Pandora's box on the Greek debt.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor
"The election has nothing to do with [the Greek debt issue]. I am expressly warning against a haircut. It could create a domino effect of uncertainty ... in the euro zone."
Peer Steinbrueck, leader of opposition SDP
"[The government] has handed out sleeping tablets and tried to hush up the fact that the stabilisation of the euro zone will have a cost"
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Ollie Rehn, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner
"Then we will also review Greece's programme's possible continuation and financing. The debt sustainability can be improved for instance by extending the loan periods"
ECB
Joerg Asmussen, Executive Board Member and former General Secretary of Germany's Finance Ministry under the SDP
"It is true that the debt level will rise in the next years and a full access to markets will be a challenge…Repeated talk of a debt reduction, a haircut, does not help. It distracts the attention of all stakeholders from what needs to be done under the current adjustment programme. We must make this programme work"
EUROGROUP
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch Finance Minister and head of the Eurogroup
"The problems in Greece won't be solved in 2014, so something more will have to happen."
GREECE
Yiannis Stournaras, Finance Minister
"We can reduce our debt in other ways" he said in reply to whether Greece needs another haircut. He reportedly also said that Greece would renegotiate its debt. new europe
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