Whether Greece remains in the euro zone is in the country’s own hands, Germany’s economy minister said Sunday.
Asked on German TV if Greece will remain in the euro zone in the long term, Philipp Roesler said: “Greeks now have that in their own hands.”
The economy minister said “clear conditions have been agreed between Europe and Greece,” which “must finally be implemented.”
“Everything else depends on that,” he said.
Greece’s parliament is due to vote Sunday on whether to adopt reforms that its international creditors have demanded if the country is to receive a second, EUR130 billion bailout.
Greece’s government must not simply “make promises,” but rather “agree laws…and if possible take the first steps to implement what has been agreed,” Roesler stressed.
“We want to see achievements and results from the…side of the Greek government and also from [the] opposition” parties, he said.
While Germany is “ready to help,” it “can and wants to help only if there are corresponding efforts on Greece’s side,” Roesler stressed.
Other troubled countries such as Portugal and Spain are “much more engaged than the colleagues in Greece” in making reforms, Roesler added.
“We say very clearly, the “day X” is increasingly losing its scariness,” he said, referring to the day that Greece would default on its debts.
Germany’s government has “theoretically planned” a special meeting on Feb. 27 to vote on the second bailout for Greece, but that meeting “only makes sense if Greece has shown beforehand that the corresponding law agreements have been made,” Roesler added.
Roesler also said Greece must make “massive” structural reforms in order to boost its competitiveness and escape the debt crisis.
(Source: Dow Jones)
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