It's up to the Greek government to ensure deal with lenders, says ECB's Coeure

By Alexis Papachelas

The responsibility for an agreement between Greece and its lenders and for keeping the country in the eurozone rests solely with the government in Athens, according to European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeure.

In an exclusive interview with Kathimerini's editor Alexis Papachelas, Coeure rejects the government's claim that the ECB is using liquidity decisions to blackmail Greece.

Also, with regard to the possibility of Greece exiting the euro, the ECB official said there is no reason to speculate over such scenarios as "the euro area needs Greece, just as Greece needs the euro."

The Greek government would like to reach an agreement on a new program in June without concluding the current review. Is that acceptable? Will Greece need a new program anyway in order to finance its fiscal needs?

Since the elections were announced, heightened uncertainty has been dragging down economic activity and risks impacting the health of the financial system. The current situation is clearly not sustainable and requires quick and decisive action by the Greek authorities to turn things around. In recent days, there has been tangible progress in the quality of the discussions with the three institutions - the ECB, the European Commission and the IMF - which can be built upon. Still, significant differences on substance remain and substantial further work is needed. We wish these discussions to succeed. The current program was extended by the Eurogroup on 20 February with the express purpose of working towards a conclusion of the review. It expires on 30 June, and the Eurogroup has also made it clear that a new program would, as a minimum, require the present one - and thus the...