Francois Hollande tells Greece to keep its promises to stay in the Eurozone
French President Francois Hollande has sent Greece a word of warning today, telling a French radio station: "The Greeks are free to choose their own destiny. But, having said that, there are certain engagements that have been made and all those must be of course respected".
Greece is once again facing political turmoil with Europe's establishment increasingly nervous that the far-left party Syriza could win the country's general election on 25 January.
Over the weekend, Der Spiegel reported that the German government believes the Eurozone could cope with a Grexit. Citing unnamed government officials, the newspaper suggested that a Greek withdrawal from the Eurozone would be "almost inevitable" if Syriza won the election.
The magazine reported that finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Chancellor Angela Merkel were confident the currency bloc had strengthened significantly since the height of the crisis and would be able to weather the storm of a Greek exit.
In the aftermath of Der Spiegel's story Angela Merkel's deputy Sigmar Gabriel has taken to the pages of Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung to say Greece will remain in the Eurozone.
The vice chancellor said in an interview:
The goal of the German government the European Union and even the government in Athens itself is to keep Greece in the Eurozone.
There were no and there are no other plans to the contrary. That’s why we can’t be blackmailed and why we expect the Greek government, no matter who leads it, to abide by the agreements made with the EU.