Schauble: What debt? -2018 will begin the debate on relief

Wolfgang Schaeuble acknowledged that Greece has made progress, call however…
country not to deviate from the reform path. At the same time, again rejected any talk of debt before 2018.
Optimistic about the future of the EU despite the multiple challenges appeared Wolfgang Schaeuble, as it transmits Deutsche Welle. In an interview with the newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten, the German Finance minister made among other things a special report on developments in the field of the Greek economy. Recognized, although some progress, nevertheless stressed the need to adhere to Greece by the way of reforms.
A lot of things in the EU are moving in the right direction, pointed out by Wolfgang Schaeuble, citing as an example the development in Spain, whereas Italy will have a positive economic development, and stressing that France launched during last summer’s major reforms in the labour market. “The Greeks are also progress – however, we should not believe that they can stop to implement the promised reforms,” he stressed. The German Finance minister, called it “a misunderstanding” the view that it is uncertain the participation of the IMF in the Greek lending program because it is not sustainable debt.
A brake on the reforms of the early debate on the debt
In addition it denied that the German government, which considers the participation of the Fund necessary condition for the support of the Greek loan programme, is on a collision course with the IMF, which calls for drastic measures in order to make sustainable the Greek debt. As stated, “the IMF doubts -but this is not a new one – that Greece will implement what it has committed and that these are sufficient to bring the country to a perpetual path of growth. The Greeks, on the contrary, always said: “you’ll make it.” Therefore, in the spring we agreed that Athens would take additional measures if the IMF is right in his pessimism. This reminded him of the Greek counterpart again in the meeting of the Eurogroup on Monday – and he assured me that it is so,” said Wolfgang Schaeuble.
The German Finance minister reiterated that there would be no debate on the debt prior to the completion of the current programme in 2018. As pointed out, “if you talk now for relief debt, this will weaken the reformist mood of Greece. The problem is not after all the debt, but the weakness of management and lack of competitiveness. There must be the authority”.
A proposal for a transfer of powers from the Commission to the ESM
Wolfgang Schaeuble proposed a stronger involvement of the European Stability Mechanism ESM in the control of the budget of the Eurozone countries. “The ESM will not evaluate the projects budget political criteria, but strictly on the basis of the rules,” said the German Finance minister, on the occasion of the placement of the Commission against the imposition of sanctions in Spain and Portugal for violation of the limits for the public deficit.