Merkel defends temp …Grexit idea; other Euro leaders’ statements on Thurs

Author: newsroom  | Published: July 16, 2015

Agreements, followed by positive votes lead to mostly positive outlook, with the exception of … Schauble

Here’s Thursday’s highlights of Euro leaders’ statements on the “Greek issue”, which appears, possibly, as normalizing:

Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the debate about a possible temporary Greek exit from the euro zone in the conservative parliamentary faction, Reuters quoted a “source” as saying
“I think it’s definitely right to think through and discuss every option in such a situation,” she said, according to a participant at the extraordinary CDU meeting on Thursday.

Draghi

ECB head Mario Draghi affirmed his faith in Greece remaining in the euro as the central bank raised its limit on emergency loans to Greek banks by 900 million euros over one week.

Schauble

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who has emerged as the “heavy” in the ongoing “Greek crisis” saga, said he didn’t see how a bailout plan for Greece that he helped negotiate could work.
Nevertheless, he later asked the Bundestag to pave the way for it anyway.
He also warned that Greece’s high debt load may force it to exit the euro.

Juncker

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke from Cyprus on Thursday, praising the island republic for its economic recovery after harsh bailout terms saved the eurozone member from meltdown.
He also delved into re-unification talks for the divided island.
“Cyprus found itself in a difficult economic position in 2013, but the Cyprus I am visiting today is very different,” he said after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on his first official trip to the island.
“The economy is beginning to grow, the financial sector has stabilised and you are again ready to take advantage of the opportunities of the future,” Juncker said, while joking that he’s been so involved in the Greek crisis that he should have learned Greek by now.
The EC President met jointly with Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader M. Akinci.
juncker_cyprus

Dijsselbloem

Finally, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that the best way to support the “Greekment” was for its to be fully implemented by the Tsipras government.

He also said he would be very pleased if all talk over Grexit ceased, while adding that trust in Greece will gradually be restored.