The French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Frederic Clavier, has weighed in on the ongoing debate over Greece’s continued involvement in the Euro Zone.
Greece’s future in the European body has been in doubt since the country voted to reject the terms in an IMF bailout program in a referendum earlier in July.
[contextly_sidebar id=”iNOXU42uXbpdEWmcD7rOdL3WJgwgBmjk”]The country risked financial ruin in the process as well as its position in the Eurozone with the overwhelming ‘No’ vote.
In a wide-ranging interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show, the French Ambassador echoed sentiments of Greece’s importance to the European bloc.
According to Mr. Clavier, Greece represented a vital part of Europe’s family and steps were being taken to ensure it remains part of the Euro zone.
“We as Europeans are a family and Greece is part of that family. Greece joined the Eurozone in 2001. The difficulty is that the country has a high amount of debt – more than 300 billion euros – a debt which represents 175% of GDP , so it is s very big debt. The idea is to find a compromise. Of course Greece has to respect it’s previous engagements because there a credits which come from the private sector and governments,” Mr Clavier stated.
“However, at the same time we have to be pragmatic and negotiate to see how to find a good solution. We [Germany and France] are trying to find a consensus that can be proposed to the other partners. I repeat that for France it is important to have Greece on board to remain in the Eurozone. We will make all the efforts for that.”
Eurozone leaders have have since agreed to offer Greece a third bailout, after extensive talks in Brussels.
Amid one of the worst crises in the EU’s history, the head of the European Commission said the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone had been averted.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that after a “tough battle”, Greece had secured debt restructuring and a “growth package”.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana