The Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup president, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, spoke with journalists after a private lecture in Tokyo, Japan. During the short interview he spoke about Greece ’s situation and the Eurogroup’s decision to help the winner of the upcoming elections, provided that they keep their end of the deal.
He urged the Greek government to stick to the austerity measures. “Whomever will be the new government, we will work with them,” Dijsselbloem said. “It does not upset our policies. It does not upset our cooperation with the Greeks. If Greeks stick to their side of the deal… if necessary we are prepared to do more,” he added.
He also stressed that Europe has already helped Greece “a lot” in order to rescue the country from bankruptcy. “It’s crucial… that Greece is once again financially and economically independent,” he said urging Greek voters to think about their situation before casting their vote.
“All politicians, all governments work within the constraints you have. If you don’t have enough money coming in, you cannot spend it. If you cannot find lenders to finance your budget, then you cannot spend your budgets.”
Finally, he stressed that the new Greek government should wait until March 2015, for the end of the bailout program, before making any further negotiations. “A lot of effort has been put in, mainly by the Greek people. The recovery is starting. It would be a great waste if we were to allow that recovery to be lost again,” he said.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
