Eurogroup head Mr Jean Claude Juncker warned that the euro crisis hitting Greece and others could affect Italy and Belgium. Mr Jean Claude Juncker in an interview with a German daily said that “we are playing with fire.” He said that the problems which have forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek emergency bailouts from the EU and the IMF could also hit, due to their high levels of debt, Belgium and Italy, even before Spain, which has been touted as the next in line for possible help.
In the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung, Mr Juncker also warned against obliging private creditors to take part in a second bailout package which is being planned for Greece, warning that rating agencies would see such a move as a debt default.
He warned that that could have catastrophic effects for the euro. He added that “we are playing with fire.”
He said that if Greece was deemed to be a defaulter that would have drastic consequences for the rest of the eurozone.
In a separate interview in Belgian daily La Libre, Juncker said that he was confident Greece could eventually turn the corner but would likely take longer to beat its problems than previously believed. He said that “If we could agree on a new aid program, submitted to strict conditionality, we could develop an overall solution that would enable Greece, in a timeframe that will probably be longer than forecast, to return within the rails.”
Asked whether Greece could quit the eurozone, Mr Juncker dubbed that an “absurd” idea with “unimaginable consequences.” He said that “There would be a contagion not only across the eurozone but also in Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia. It would cause widespread fire. Even the most outlandish don't raise this hypothesis.”
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