BERLIN (MNI) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a
newspaper interview published Sunday that he is “confident” the Greek
parliament will approve the new austerity program required to get
additional financial aid from the EU and the IMF.
Schaeuble told German weekly Bild am Sonntag (BamS) that it would
be “very desirable” if the Greek opposition would also back the new
measures.
The minister cautioned that if the austerity program fails in the
Greek parliament, the conditions for getting the next tranche of EU-IMF
aid will not be met.
“Then the stability of the whole Eurozone would be at risk,”
Schaeuble was quoted as saying. “We would then have to take care quickly
so that the risk of contagion for the financial system and other
Eurozone states would be contained,” he stressed.
Financial markets across the globe could be affected, the minister
warned. “The risks are hard to assess, but from a common viewpoint they
are high,” he said.
“We are trying everything to prevent the development of a crisis in
Europe, but at the same time we must be prepared for everything,”
Schaeuble told the paper.
Regarding the planned European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU’s
future bailout fund, Schaeuble said he did not have the slightest doubt
that there will be a majority in favor of it in both houses of German
parliament.
Commenting on the domestic economy, Schaeuble told the paper that
he currently sees no significant leeway for tax cuts in Germany,
stressing that budget consolidation still has priority.
German weekly Der Spiegel reported over the weekend that German
Chancellor Angela Merkel plans tax cuts of up to E7 billion by 2013.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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