While Greece sinks further into a political and economic quagmire, El Pais reports that a small group of ECB and Commission experts are setting in motion a “firewall” of protection for member-states in case of Grexit, an alleged plan called … “Operation Albania”.
According to the Spanish daily, such a contingency plan has been on the drawing boards since 2012, with the first specter of Greece’s exit from the common currency surfaced.
If El Pais’ report is accurate, an urgency in action by the Commission, now joined by the ECB, came after the shocking announcement by Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to shift the decision on creditors’ proposal to Greek voters – five months after he and his radical leftist party (SYRIZA) assumed power.
The operation, always according to the report, is to protect markets from a possible Grexit.
In referring to the “president of the Eurogroup”, which would be Jeroen Dijsselbloem, El Pais said no details are given expect a phrase that Europe is “read to help Greece deal with the situation in the financial system.”
The first “headache”, the reasoning goes, is a possible bank run.
Additionally, possible problems are multiplied for economies that are closely linked to Greece’s, such as Cyprus, fYRoM, Romania and Bulgaria.
