European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici on Sunday in different interviews with RTL, Le Figaro and LCI, expressed his views over the progress of the negotiations with Greece. As for the eurozone, he said: “We have to understand that the euro is not a system of fixed exchange rates. The euro is a single currency, that means that the national currencies have been abolished. So this is something irreversible. The day when a country decides to leave the euro, there is no existing legal mechanism. Unless we are talking about leaving the EU, something that obviously no one wants … If a country leaves, the euro is no longer a single currency and the question raised is who is next.”
Regarding his relationship with the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, Moscovici noted: “He is a smart person, not always easy, but smart. We can find a common language and, in any case, that is what I wish … My job is not to prepare a plan B. My job is not to prepare Greece’s exit from the euro, it is not to prepare a bankruptcy. My job is to avoid all these. I absolutely hope that Greece remains in the euro. The position of Greece is in the eurozone.”
Asked on the possibility of an accident, he replied: “The European Commission and the institutions are all working to avoid it. This is known and what is also known is that time is running out and we must find the money as there are some important deadlines.”
Moscovici also stressed the need to speed up reforms. “Progress has been made. But this progress is not enough, it is very slow … Time is running out … You need to speed up,” he underlined. The EU Commissioner also said that it is not possible not to reach an agreement in June. “We will all do our best so that there is an agreement,” he added.
(source: ana-mpa)
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