Greek exit fuels euro fears
Source: Agencies |
May 19, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
EUROPEAN officials are working on contingency plans in case Greece bombs out of the eurozone, the EU's trade commissioner said yesterday, while Berlin said it was prepared for all eventualities.
Markets have been spooked by the prospect of a Greek euro exit sparking a wave of contagion in the currency bloc which could engulf much larger economies such as Spain's.
Policy makers insist they want Greece to remain in the eurozone but European Union trade commissioner Karel de Gucht said the European Commission and the European Central Bank are working on scenarios in case it has to leave.
"A year and a half ago there maybe was a risk of a domino effect," de Gucht told Belgium's Dutch-language newspaper De Standaard, in comments confirmed by a person close to him.
"But today there are in the European Central Bank, as well as in the Commission, services working on emergency scenarios if Greece shouldn't make it. A Greek exit does not mean the end of the euro, as some claim."
Speculation about such planning has been rife, but de Gucht's comments appeared to be the first time an EU official has acknowledged the existence of contingencies being drawn up.
A German finance ministry spokeswoman, asked about plans for a possible Greek exit, said: "The German government naturally has the responsibility to its citizens to be prepared for any eventuality."
Markets have been spooked by the prospect of a Greek euro exit sparking a wave of contagion in the currency bloc which could engulf much larger economies such as Spain's.
Policy makers insist they want Greece to remain in the eurozone but European Union trade commissioner Karel de Gucht said the European Commission and the European Central Bank are working on scenarios in case it has to leave.
"A year and a half ago there maybe was a risk of a domino effect," de Gucht told Belgium's Dutch-language newspaper De Standaard, in comments confirmed by a person close to him.
"But today there are in the European Central Bank, as well as in the Commission, services working on emergency scenarios if Greece shouldn't make it. A Greek exit does not mean the end of the euro, as some claim."
Speculation about such planning has been rife, but de Gucht's comments appeared to be the first time an EU official has acknowledged the existence of contingencies being drawn up.
A German finance ministry spokeswoman, asked about plans for a possible Greek exit, said: "The German government naturally has the responsibility to its citizens to be prepared for any eventuality."
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