Greece Denies Planned Exit from Euro Zone

Greece has been hit by a wave of strikes in protest against tough government measures, including salary freezes and tax increases. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Greek officials have denied a report in Germany's Spiegel Online magazine that the government is considering the possibility of leaving the euro zone and reintroducing its own currency.

"An article published today concerning the possible exit of Greece from the Eurozone is not only completely untrue but also written with incomprehensible flippancy despite repeated denials by the Greek Government as well as other EU Member States," reads a statement of Greece's finance ministry, which was issued Friday evening.

"Such articles are not only provocative but also highly irresponsible as they undermine Greece's efforts and those of the Eurozone and serve only the interests of speculators," the statement stresses.

Meanwhile Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the 17-state Eurogroup of currency partners, denied that the urgent meeting on Friday night, which was attended by ministers from Germany, France, Italy and Spain, discussed the possibility of Greece withdrawing from the 17-member euro zone, as well as the idea of restructuring Greece's 327 billion euro sovereign debt.

"We have not been discussing the exit of Greece from the euro area. This is a stupid idea. It is in no way -- it is an avenue we would never take," he told reporters.

"We don't want to have the euro area exploding without reason. We were excluding the restructuring option, which is discussed heavily in certain quarters of the financial markets..."

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou was invited to the Luxembourg talks to exchange views (on issues including) economic developments in Greece, according to a statement of his ministry.

"It is clear that during this meeting it was never discussed or posed as an issue whether Greece would remain in the euro zone," it said.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, also attended the meeting.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!