Greek euro exit 'manageable' but expensive: ECB
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FRANKFURT (AFP) - A Greek exit from the euro zone would be "manageable" even if it would be expensive and result in higher unemployment, a top member of the European Central Bank was quoted as saying on Monday.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau, Mr Joerg Asmussen, a German member of the ECB's Executive Board, was asked about the possibility of debt-wracked Greece being forced out of the euro zone.
"First: My preference is clear. Greece should stay in the euro zone. Second: It is in Greece's hands to achieve that. Third: A Greek exit would be manageable. Fourth: An exit would not be as orderly as some imagine," he said.
Such an exit would spark a slump in growth, job losses and would be "very expensive. In Greece, in Europe and in Germany," said Mr Asmussen.
