Grexit possible, says Italian finance minister

01 giugno 2015

1 min di lettura

(AGI) Trento, June 1 - Greece could exit the euro, but therewould be serious short-term repercussions in the eurozone, saidItaly's minister of economy and finance, Pier Carlo Padoan. Headded that a "Grexit" would certainly be possible, but thequestion was whether it was desirable and what the consequenceswould be. Speaking in a public debate at the Trento Festival ofEconomy, he said that "in the short term the consequences wouldbe very limited", but would be "more serious in the mediumterm, because it would mean that the euro was no longer what itwas designed to be. It would be reversible." He then describedthe euro as "an incomplete animal", which therefore "could notremain in its current position: if it does not move forwards,it moves backwards." The problem was not so much the debt thatGreece was repaying, but an economy that failed to grow."Greece has already had two debt restructuring plans", he saidin reponse to a question on the likelihood of the country'ssovereign debt being cancelled. "Restructuring debt in astagnant economy immediately leads to rising debt, andtherefore the Greek problem is that the economy is failing togrow". .