Greece's new elections are a vote on the country's future in Europe and the euro, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said today, amid ongoing political turmoil in Athens.
"The Greek people should know what they are voting about. It's not about party politics, but about Greece's future in Europe and the euro," Mr Westerwelle said in a statement released by his office.
The European Central Bank would like Greece to stay in the eurozone, its president Mario Draghi said today, amid continued political uncertainty that threatens to force it out of the bloc.
"Our strong preference is that Greece will continue to stay in the euro area," Mr Draghi told a conference here, adding that it was not up to the central bank to decide the fate of the Greeks.
"Since the (EU) Treaty does not foresee anything on exit, this is not a matter for the ECB to decide," Mr Draghi said.
He reiterated that the bank's sole duty was "keeping price stability over the medium term in line with treaty provisions" and "preserving the integrity of our balance sheet."
Greece's inability to form a government since inconclusive elections in May has threatened to force it out of the eurozone, as the country goes to the polls a second time on June 17, according to the Athens News Agency.
For the ECB, keeping the 17-nation bloc intact has always been sacrosanct, but this latest round of Greek turmoil has seemingly reduced their attachment to the debt-wracked nation.
Belgian central bank chief Luc Coene has recently talked of an "amicable divorce" in the Financial Times.
And Irish central bank governor Patrick Honohan has said that a Greek departure from the eurozone "isn't necessarily fatal" and could "technically" be managed.
Mr Draghi hailed the "difficult and significant reforms" carried out by several eurozone countries to tackle the crisis, while urging them to do even more.
He also said Spain had asked the ECB to help the government reform its banking sector - a request the bank was considering.
EU approves Greek state aid for sale of T Bank
European Union competition authorities announced provisional approval on Wednesday for around €680m of Greek state aid to support the sale of troubled T Bank.
The European Commission gave its blessing for "state support granted by the Hellenic Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund ("HDIGF") to facilitate the acquisition of the economic activities of the Greek T Bank by Hellenic Postbank in the context of T Bank's resolution," a statement said.
EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the aid being allowed "was restricted to the minimum necessary to compensate the buyer for the lower value of the assets transferred as compared to the transferred liabilities."
Mr Almunia said Greece had six months in which to submit "an updated restructuring plan for Hellenic Postbank which takes into account the integration of T Bank's activities."
That action would likely trigger an "automatic" extension of approval pending a final decision, he added.
