Greece should get more time, aid: ECB member
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BRUSSELS (AFP) - Debt-laden Greece should get more time and more aid if necessary to put its financial house in order and remain in the euro zone, a member of the European Central Bank said in an interview published on Saturday.
"It is preferable that Greece remains in the euro zone," Mr Jorg Asmussen, a German ECB board member, told the Belgian economic daily l'Echo.
"If that means additional aid for one or two years more, that will be significantly less expensive than it leaving (the euro zone) or a default," he was quoted as saying.
The comments come ahead of a meeting on Monday in Brussels of the euro zone finance ministers, who are due to discuss releasing the latest aid tranche of 31.5 billion euros (S$49 billion) to Greece, which has been held back since June.
