The European People’s Party candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker believes that while Greece has achieved a number of significant milestones, such as returning to the credit markets and the primary surplus, he has not ruled out the possibility of a new debt “haircut”.
The former head of the Eurogroup told German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung how he struggled day and night with bank and creditor representatives to secure the 100-billion-euro haircut in 2012 and admitted that mistakes may have been made in the aid programs of debt-ridden countries. Mr. Juncker vowed to rectify these “mistakes” if elected Commission president.
Later in his interview the PM of Luxembourg stressed that despite the problems however, there have been some positive results, such as Spain solving its banking problems, while Portugal and Ireland have completed their programs and moved on.
As expected, Mr. Juncker’s comments were not well-received in Germany, where public opinion is against any further haircuts of the Greek debt. The Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development Peter Ramsauer ruled out the possibility of a third aid package to Greece, as he believes the Greek economy is still in decline.
The president of the Budget Committee and left MP Gesine Letzsch echoed the opinion and added that she was against any further support, especially when the money ends up with banks and millionaires.
