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Schetyna calls for Greece to stay in eurozone

PR dla Zagranicy
Jo Harper 07.07.2015 14:22
Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna has called for Greece to remain in the eurozone, but on “tough conditions.”
Grzegorz Schetyna. Photo: Polskie RadioGrzegorz Schetyna. Photo: Polskie Radio

“A new game has begun,” he said, referring to today’s eurogroup meeting devoted to the crisis.

The 19 finance ministers of the eurozone meet in Brussels at 2pm CET and EU leaders meet 6pm.

“There will be talk about various scenarios. The key question is whether [Greek] Prime Minister Tsipras comes up with any concrete proposals or will continue to pretend that nothing really happened and that they are simply hostages of a situation into which they had been forced. If the latter proves to be the case, we shall be indeed be writing black scenarios,” the minister said.

He added that the countries which have undertaken restrictive measures, such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy, should "not be lost from sight."

“They adopted tough austerity policies and are coming out of the crisis. If Greece is treated differently by the eurogroup, problems will emerge, including the emergence of populist tendencies,” Schetyna said.

Eurozone leaders are seemingly split into two broad camps on how to proceed with the Greek situation. A more hardline German approach and a softer French-led initiative broadly define the political options that are emerging, with the latter tentatively proposing some kind of roll-over and/or write-off of Greek debt in exchange for concrete actions to stem Greece's public finance crisis. How growth will be generated without some kind of stimulus is not clear, however, critics suggest.

Schetyna didn't say what the tough actions would or should be.

PM Ewa Kopacz said on Sunday evening after the Greek vote that a so-called "Grexit" was the most likely outcome.

The summit follows the Greek people’s rejection of a previous offer by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB), which hold a combined approx EUR 40 billion (about 12.5 percent) of Greece's external debt, to bailout Greece if it submits to more cuts in public spending.

The leaders of France and Germany have called on Greece to come up with “serious and credible proposals” if it wants to stay in the eurozone.

“We are now waiting for precise proposals from the Greek prime minister, for a programme that will allow Greece to return to prosperity. It is urgent to have these proposals so we can find a way out of this situation,” said the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday that a solution would not appear overnight, however. “What we are going to do today is to talk to each other and restore order,” he said.

The ECB has pumped EUR 89 billion into the Greek financial system in recent months. Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, pressed for capital controls to be lifted when he spoke to the head of the ECB, Mario Draghi, on Monday.

Fitch rating agency said it does not expect a deal by 20 July when Greece must make a EUR 3.5 billion debt repayment to the ECB. (mk/jh)

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