–Adds Comments From German Chancellor Merkel, French PM Ayrault
BERLIN (MNI) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said
Thursday that Eurozone finance ministers would reach an agreement on how
to close the financing gap in Greece’s rescue program at the next
Eurogroup meeting on Tuesday.
Speaking at a conference organized by the German daily Sueddeutsche
Zeitung, Schaeuble noted that the draft of the latest report on Greece
by the troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and
the International Monetary Fund did not give a recommendation on how to
close that financing gap.
“That is the actual task and we will solve it by next Tuesday,” the
minister vowed. “We will overcome the euro crisis, that will be a
gradual [process], we need a solution for Greece which lasts for a
while.”
“Imbalances in the European monetary union are becoming smaller,”
Schaeuble observed. “One can say we’re on the right path.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Prime
Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stressed on Thursday at a joint press
conference here that they wanted to see a quick decision on aid for
Greece.
“Exactly like Germany, France wants this decision to be made as
quickly as possible so that we can really advance,” Ayrault said. Merkel
urged the troika to finish its report on Greece very soon so that
Eurozone finance ministers could make a decision on Tuesday.
The chancellor said Germany and France “are optimistic that we can
get growth again [in the Eurozone] after the current small dip, if we do
our political homework, work well together in Europe and if we make
clear that the euro is our common currency.”
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@mni-news.com
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