Germany, France Want Greece to Stay in Eurozone

European leaders said Friday that Greece should stay in the 19-nation eurozone, as finance ministers of the group were struggling to reach a compromise on the country’s bailout program. Speaking at a joint news conference in Paris after talks with French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that her country’s position "since the beginning of the Greek program" has been that Greece remains a member of the Eurozone, adding that Berlin "would do everything to continue along this path." Hollande repeated France’s position that Greece should stay in the eurozone. "Greece is in the Eurozone. Greece has to stay in the Eurozone," he said. Eurozone finance ministers are meeting in Brussels to consider Athens' proposal to extend its European loan program. Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is also Dutch finance minister, said in a tweet that the meeting was delayed, without giving any reason. EU officials are battling to find a compromise to overcome a Greece-Germany standoff. Germany, the main European creditor, has repeatedly said that any extension of loans was "inextricably" linked to the reforms agreed to by the previous Greek government. Greece's leftist government has rejected that option, arguing that conditions attached to the bailout package have plunged the country into poverty. If no deal is reached by the February 28 deadline, Greece faces the risk of bankruptcy and an eventual departure from the single euro currency union. Such a scenario is not desirable to either side, since it would create huge uncertainty for the country and region.



from Voice of America http://ift.tt/1AcU2ir