Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that Greece must respect the rules of the euro zone if it wants to remain in the common currency, according to Reuters.
Speaking to German magazine Spiegel online on Friday, the EU official said that all leading Greek politicians are in favor of Greece remaining in the euro zone.
Leftist party SYRIZA, which is most likely to form government after Sunday’s election, say that they want to remain in the single currency, but at the same time pledges to end the austerity policies imposed under the country’s bailout program.
“If you say that, then that means you have to accept the rules and agreements,” Dijsselbloem said. “And that also means: any country that needs support to finance its economy and public expenditures must stick to those conditions.”
The EU official added that it will not work if a country “simply asks for loans without meeting any sort of conditions.” Dijsselbloem also said that any government that will come out of the elections will depend on further economic support from its European partners, the Reuters report says.
On his final campaign speech, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras urged Greeks to give the leftist party an outright victory in Sunday’s vote so the country could turn its back on four years of austerity under the terms of the EU/IMF bailout.
International markets are following the Greek election closely as a SYRIZA victory could lead to a direct confrontation with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund over the required measures of the current bailout program, resulting in a possible Grexit or bankruptcy.
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