EU Commissioner hints at Greek euro exit - Independent Online

REUTERS

The European Union wants to keep Greece inside the eurozone, but it would be irresponsible not to prepare for a Greek exit, the bloc's top trade official insisted Friday.

"I'm saying in the most robust terms that we should ensure that Greece stays in the eurozone, but can you expect that we would not have the slightest idea of what would happen if ever there is something dramatic with Greece?" EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht

told reporters.

The former Belgian foreign minister had already provoked a sharp rebuke from his colleague Olli Rehn, the EU's Economy Commissioner, after telling newspaper De Standaard last week that EU and European Central Bank experts were already working on "scenarios in case Greece does not make it."

"Karel De Gucht is responsible for trade. I am responsible for financial and economic affairs and relations with the ECB. We are not working on the scenario of a Greek exit," Rehn had said. - Sapa-dpa