EU needs to prepare for 'state of emergency' in Greece, says German commissioner

The European Commission needs to make plans for a 'state of emergency' in Greece from July 1 if Athens does not reach an agreement with its creditors, Germany's EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on Monday in Berlin.

"We should work out an emergency plan because Greece would fall into a state of emergency," Oettinger, who is also a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats said, citing the need to ensure access to energy and medicine.

"I think that the Commission needs to work out a plan that could avert a worsening of the situation in the event that Greece leaves the euro zone, in the event of a bankruptcy."

The Greek government stuck to demands on Monday that its creditors propose less harsh terms for a cash-for-reforms deal after talks collapsed, bringing Athens one step closer to a default that could tip it out of the eurozone.

Oettinger told reporters on his way into a CDU party executive meeting in Berlin that Athens needed to come up with suggestions on pension reform to move the talks forward.

"The offer is still valid to hold Greece in the eurozone. But for that to happen Greece will have to move its positions on pensions and its general budget consolidation."

[Reuters]