Prime Minister insists that world cannot afford to wait for answers on future of single currency
The Independent
David Osborne
Andy McSmith
David Cameron has issued his bluntest warning yet to Greece that voters need to "meet their commitments" as a member of the eurozone in elections next month or leave the currency union.
The Independent
David Osborne
Andy McSmith
David Cameron has issued his bluntest warning yet to Greece that voters need to "meet their commitments" as a member of the eurozone in elections next month or leave the currency union.
Speaking at the Nato summit in Chicago, and three days before a crucial EU meeting, the Prime Minister said the leaders of the eurozone must now prepare for either outcome and be ready for the repercussions of the Greek vote, set for 17 June. The poll was called after Greek parties failed to form a new government earlier this month.
"We are coming to a decision point where Greece is going to vote. It has to be absolutely clear there is a choice: they can vote to stay in the eurozone and meet their commitments, or they can vote to give up on their commitments and effectively give up on the eurozone," Mr Cameron said. No one could tell Greece's parties what to do, but he can have left them in no doubt of how he feels. "The choice Greece faces is maintaining its commitments and maintaining its place in the eurozone or deciding that's not the path it wants to take.
"What is required is decisiveness, strong actions by government – whether action to deal with deficits, to deal with the banks, to calm markets," he said.
"The eurozone has to put in place the most robust contingency plans for both eventualities because the world is suffering from continued uncertainty in the eurozone. So this is a decision point."
Mr Cameron also defended the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose insistence on austerity has been blamed for preventing the G8 summit from making progress.
"Obviously she wants to make sure that countries in the eurozone that signed up to all sorts of commitments meet those commitments. She did show some flexibility in terms of what more can be done on the growth agenda."
Mr Clarke, a lifelong Euro-enthusiast, said staying in the euro is still an option for Greece.
"But if they get a lot of cranky extremists elected, they will default on their debt and everybody says they will leave the euro. For the Greeks, that will be disastrous. They will encounter real poverty," he warned.
"We are coming to a decision point where Greece is going to vote. It has to be absolutely clear there is a choice: they can vote to stay in the eurozone and meet their commitments, or they can vote to give up on their commitments and effectively give up on the eurozone," Mr Cameron said. No one could tell Greece's parties what to do, but he can have left them in no doubt of how he feels. "The choice Greece faces is maintaining its commitments and maintaining its place in the eurozone or deciding that's not the path it wants to take."What is required is decisiveness, strong actions by government – whether action to deal with deficits, to deal with the banks, to calm markets," he said.
"The eurozone has to put in place the most robust contingency plans for both eventualities because the world is suffering from continued uncertainty in the eurozone. So this is a decision point."
Mr Cameron also defended the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose insistence on austerity has been blamed for preventing the G8 summit from making progress.
"Obviously she wants to make sure that countries in the eurozone that signed up to all sorts of commitments meet those commitments. She did show some flexibility in terms of what more can be done on the growth agenda."
Mr Clarke, a lifelong Euro-enthusiast, said staying in the euro is still an option for Greece.
"But if they get a lot of cranky extremists elected, they will default on their debt and everybody says they will leave the euro. For the Greeks, that will be disastrous. They will encounter real poverty," he warned.
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