The Greek finance minister has warned that the euro will collapse if his country is forced out of the currency bloc.
“The euro is fragile, it’s like building a castle of cards, if you take out the Greek card the others will collapse.” Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview with Italian state television network RAI.
He also warned that the euro zone risks fragmentation and de-construction unless it accepts the fact that Greece is not able to pay back its debt under the current conditions.
“I would warn anyone who is considering strategically amputating Greece from Europe because this is very dangerous,…Who will be next after us? Portugal? What will happen when Italy discovers it is impossible to remain inside the straitjacket of austerity?,” the Greek finance minister asked.
The new anti-austerity government would propose a new deal for Europe like the one enacted in the United States in the 1930s, Varoufakis was quoted as saying.
He also described EU’s austerity policies as “counterproductive” and said such move will spread hatred of European democracy.
Meanwhile, Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who stormed to power back in January, announced that his country needs a bridge loan rather than an extended bailout.
Addressing parliament on Sunday, he also promised to cut bureaucratic spending and vowed to stick to all its pre-election pledges.
The new government has started rolling back austerity measures. The eurozone country’s debt stands at over €320bn.
