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Euro zone contemplates future without Greece European leaders give precedence to saving the Euro, not Greece and mull possible scenarios of a Greek exit from the Euro given the current debt status and the possibility of not meeting its EU commitments
European leaders were preparing on Thursday for the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone to preserve the 12-year-old single currency. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Prime Minister George Papandreou at a torrid meeting in Cannes that Athens would not receive a cent more in aid -- Greece was due an 8 billion euros aid payment this month -- until it votes to meet its commitments to the euro zone. In Athens, Greece's powerful finance minister broke ranks with his prime minister, rejecting a proposed referendum on staying in the euro, hours after they received an ultimatum from France and Germany to make up their minds. The growing chaos in Greece and uncertainty over the euro zone sent stocks and commodity prices lower in Asia, and fuelled a rush into safe-haven German bonds. On his return with Papandreou to Athens from Cannes, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos issued a defiant statement, saying Greece's euro membership was a historic achievement and "cannot depend on a referendum". A finance ministry source said Venizelos, who was kept in the dark by his Socialist rival about Monday's referendum call, opposed risking a public vote at this crucial moment. "Under these conditions, a referendum is exactly what the country does not need," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. More dissident lawmakers in the ruling PASOK party spoke out against a referendum and called for a national unity government or early elections, casting doubt on whether Papandreou can win a confidence vote on Friday or pass a bill to hold a plebiscite. Euro area leaders talked openly for the first time of a possible Greek exit from the 17-nation currency area, seeking to maximise pressure on Athens and to preserve the euro in case of a Greek "no" vote. Merkel told a midnight news conference that while she would prefer to stabilise the euro with Greece as a member, the top priority was saving the euro, not rescuing the Greeks. The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, said policymakers were working on possible scenarios for a Greek exit. "We are working on the subject of how to ensure there is not a disaster for the people in Germany, Luxembourg, the euro zone. We are absolutely prepared for the situation," Juncker told Germany's ZDF television. France's Europe minister, Jean Leonetti, said bluntly the euro could survive without Greece. "Greece is something we can get over, something we can live without," he told RTL radio in an interview The spectre of a hard Greek default and euro exit hung over a meeting of G20 leaders beginning in Cannes on Thursday, highlighting Europe's frailty just when Sarkozy wanted to showcase his leadership of the world's major economies. The summit on the French Riviera had been meant to focus on reforms of the global monetary system and steps to rein in speculative capital flows, but the shockwaves from Greece have upended the talks. Merkel and Sarkozy convinced Papandreou to bring forward the referendum to early December and insisted it be focused on the broad issue of whether Greece wants to stay in the currency bloc rather than limiting it to a vote on a new 130 billion euro bailout package, which a strong majority of Greeks oppose. A chastened Papandreou said before leaving Cannes that the referendum could take place on Dec. 4 and would be focused on "whether we want to remain in the euro zone". But after Venizelos' statement and the start of a backbench PASOK revolt, it was unclear if the government would survive the week. Merkel and Sarkozy also made clear that Athens would not receive an 8 billion euro aid tranche it desperately needs to avoid default until the referendum had passed. Should it fail, the EU/IMF aid would end, plunging Greece into a disorderly default that would reverberate across the euro zone, potentially engulfing big economies like Italy and Spain. "Our Greek friends must decide whether they want to continue the journey with us," Sarkozy told reporters at a joint news conference with Merkel after the crisis talks. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/25829.aspx
