Greece may quit euro says US envoy
GREECE is considering ditching the euro in favour of the US dollar, Donald Trump’s pick for EU ambassador claims.
Professor Ted Malloch said German chancellor Angela Merkel would “freak out” if Greece quits the European single currency.
He said at the very least Greece – which owes its creditors £280billion – would have to return to the drachma if it quit the bloc.
Professor Malloch’s comments will be embarrassing for Mrs Merkel, who wants to keep Greece in the EU despite its ballooning debt. In an interview with Greek TV station Ekathimerini, the professor described the current situation as “simply unsustainable”.
Accident
He said: “I know some Greek economists who have even gone to leading think tanks in the US to discuss this topic and the question of dollarisation.
“Such a topic of course freaks out the Germans because they really don’t want to hear such ideas.”
Greece has lost 25 per cent of its GDP since its financial collapse seven years ago and has been given massive loans from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
Just four days ago German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greece may be forced out of the eurozone as investors fear an “accident” if it cannot meet repayment schedules.
Prof Malloch added: “[Greece] needs debt restructuring, it really needs debt relief... it means a haircut to the lenders and to the banks in Germany and probably, at least in my perspective, a return to the drachma.”