Bulgarian EU Commissioner: Greece Crisis Useful Wake-up Call for Euro Zone

Bulgaria's EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva (left) has supported the priorities of the government of PM Boyko Borisov (right). Photo by BGNES

The common European currency is going to survive the present crisis triggered by the financial situation in Greece, Bulgaria’s EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in an exclusive interview.

“Not so long ago there were predictions and forecasts about the end of the US dollar, now it is the euro’s turn. The euro will survive this crisis – and the euro zone will continue to attract new applicants. Just last week we at the Commission gave a green light to Estonia’s application,” explained Georgieva, who is the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and a former Vice-President of the World Bank.

She has pointed out that the euro is facing threats on two fronts – from the high budget deficits of most euro zone states and from speculators on the financial market.

Georgieva remains convinced that there are risks for the euro in the present situation but that the parties involved are not going to dismiss them light-heartedly.

“I dare say – however unreal this may sound – that what happened in Greece may serve the whole EU well. It is a real wake-up call, from Germany and France to Greece and the rest, and made us realize that we cannot play around with the Stability and Growth Pact, we have to respect it, and work hard for it, so that it works for all of us,” she told Novinite.com.

The EU Commissioner has supported the continued aspirations of the Bulgarian government of the GERB party to join the euro zone saying it made little sense, if any, for Bulgaria to abandon this goal since it currency is already pegged to the euro, and its economy is very deeply integrated with that of the other euro zone countries.

Georgieva has praised the strategy of the Borisov government to focus on restoring trust in law, to keep the budget deficit under control, and to concentrate on building infrastructure in the economic sphere.

“In infrastructure we can create jobs quickly, and can give people all over the country the feeling that something is improving in their daily lives. There has to be one economic sector where there is tangible change, and this sector should be structurally important for all the other sectors – for everyday life, for tourism, for trade, for the investors that we wish to attract,“ the Bulgarian EU Commissioner said in her interview for Novinite.com.

Full Text of EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva's Interview for Novinite.com READ HERE

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