Schaeuble: Greece's ECB, IMF obligations 'take precedence' over pensions and wages

Gazzetta team 14 Ιουλίου 2015 - 16:47

In statements concerning efforts to find bridge loans for Greece in the short term, Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday said that European leaders had decided that Greece's obligations to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) take precedence over wages and pensions in the country.

He had been asked whether financing will be released to cover needs within the country.
In statements after meeting EU finance ministers at an ECOFIN Council, Schaeuble stressed that an agreement for a bridge loan to Greece must be found by Monday "in order to avoid bigger problems." He again emphasised the need to restore trust between the Greek government and its EU partners.
"For some years now, since 2010, they have destroyed a great quantity of trust. It is not the last government that is solely responsible. The issue is, however, how long you can do this without destroying the credibility of Europe," he said.
Schaeuble said that it was up to Greece to take the actions that must be taken, while noting that there was still a danger for the outcome of the negotiations for a third bailout, which he predicted would be protracted and difficult.
Asked about the possibility of elections in Greece, Schaeuble replied that there was an agreement that in each stage of the negotiations the "decisions of a country must be implemented, regardless of domestic developments."
On the Grexit proposal he presented to the Eurogroup, the German finance minister said that he had done this because many people in the German government believe that this is in Greece's best interests and the best solution, while admitting that no one could be absolutely certain.