Germany Sees No Need to Scrap Troika in Overseeing Greek Turnaround
The Role of the ECB, the EU and the IMF Can’t Be Unilaterally Changed Says Berlin
“In the [German] government there is no indication that it shouldn’t be retained,” government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said at a news conference.
Greece’s new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, has said Greece will no longer talk to the troika of inspectors, which has imposed economic overhauls on Greece since 2010.
Berlin said on Monday, however, the work of the troika is written into agreements, like the eurozone’s permanent bailout facility, the European Stability Mechanism, and “these things can’t just be changed unilaterally,” according to finance ministry spokeswoman Marianne Kothe.
The German government’s comments follow a report in German daily Handelsblatt that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker may change the way creditors negotiate with Greek officials by reforming the troika and potentially ending its official visits to Greece.
A Commission spokesman declined to “engage in any speculation or discussion on what might happen at some point” on Monday, but noted that Mr. Juncker has said in the past that the troika should be replaced by a more democratic instrument in the future.
Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s newly elected prime minister, will visit Brussels on Wednesday.