By Patrick Donahue March 20 (Bloomberg) — Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that Germany is open to European Union aid to Greece and denounced what she called “superficial” European solidarity that doesn’t face up to the need for fiscal discipline. Merkel said no decision has been made about whether to use EU aid to Greece or to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund. A government spokesman today confirmed her statement, which was reported by Deutsche Presse Agentur, citing an interview with broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Merkel’s government said yesterday it wouldn’t rule out financial assistance from the IMF, while Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble ’s spokesman expressed “great reservation” about aid from the Washington-based fund. The comments underscored the struggle within Merkel’s government on how Europe’s biggest economy should react to the Greek budget crisis, five days before European leaders hold a summit in Brussels. Public opposition to bailouts for Greece has escalated in Germany, the biggest stakeholder in the European Central Bank and main contributor to the EU budget. The German government today sought to play down divisions between Merkel and Schaeuble, denying a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the finance minister ordered his staff not to communicate with chancellery officials without his consent. “An intensive exchange occurs daily between the chancellor and the finance minister along with their ministries on Greece,” according to a statement issued by the government press office. CDU Rally In an appearance before members of her Christian Democratic Union, Merkel lauded Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou ’s efforts to rein in his country’s budget, calling his deficit- cutting program “a real achievement.” “There has to be solidarity that tackles the problem at its roots, not solidarity that’s superficial and in the end weakens everybody,” Merkel said at a political rally in the city of Muenster in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Merkel is open to different options on Greece, according to the Deutschlandfunk interview reported by DPA. The Greek government isn’t yet in need of financial assistance, German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told reporters yesterday in Berlin. “We assume that Greece is in a position to solve its problems itself with its consolidation program,” Wilhelm said. To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net .
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Merkel Open to European Union Aid to Greece; No Decision on IMF Assistance
