“I will do everything I can in my position to convince the Greeks to choose to stay in the zone and everything to convince Europeans who might doubt the necessity of keeping Greece in the eurozone,” Hollande told journalists during a press conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday.
The remarks came amid recent speculations that Greece might leave the eurozone. However, European leaders have expressed hope that Greece’s second parliamentary elections, expected on June 17, would produce a strong government and put an end to the country’s political and economic turmoil.
European officials also insisted that the outcome of the vote would determine whether Greece stays in the 17-nation bloc or not, stressing that in any case the new administration must comply with the austerity measures the country agreed to with its European neighbors in exchange for endorsement of the second financial bailout.
“This isn’t just an issue for the Greeks, it’s simply an issue for the eurozone, it’s an issue for Europe and of the conditions for eurozone growth,” Hollande said before heading for an informal EU summit in Brussels.
“This might appear disproportionate but if there were a crisis in Greece that bounces back after elections planned for June 17, that would necessarily have an impact on growth conditions in Europe and therefore the rest of the world,” he added.
Greece will hold new parliamentary elections in less than a month after previous polls earlier in May failed to give any party an absolute majority.
Greece’s Radical Left party, Syriza, which is expected to win the coming votes, came in second in the first elections due to its pledge to overturn the controversial austerity measures.
MR/JR
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