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Juncker says German debt cause for concern
BERLIN | Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:48am EST
(Reuters) - Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted in a German newspaper on Wednesday saying that Germany's debt level is worrying and even higher than Spain's.
In an interview to appear in Thursday's General-Anzeiger newspaper in Bonn, Juncker also said it would be a disastrous scenario if Greece were to exit the euro zone.
"I consider the level of German debts to be a cause for concern," Juncker said.
"Germany has higher debts than Spain," he added. "The only thing is that here (in Germany) no one wants to know about that."
Juncker said Greece was on the right path. But if it were to leave the euro zone it would lead to a "disastrous scenario".
(Reporting By Erik Kirschbaum and Veronica Ek)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7AF1RK20111116
Germany has debt too, more than Spain: Juncker
(BERLIN) - The head of eurozone finance ministers has said Germany, before lecturing its partners, should remember that it, too, has a debt higher than Spain's, in a newspaper interview.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker called the level of Germany's debt "worrying", according to an advanced copy of an interview with the Bonner General-Anzeiger newspaper to appear Thursday.
"In Germany, people often act as if the country had no problems, as if Germany is free of debt and all the others had excessive debts," he told the German paper.
"I think the level of German debt is worrying. Germany has higher debts than Spain. Only nobody here wants to know that," he said.
"It appears to be more comfortable to say the people in the South are lazy and the Germans are grafters. But it is not so."
Asked about Berlin's influence on decisions taken in the eurozone, Juncker underscored that Germany was the leading economy and was an "engine" which nobody could replace if it broke down.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/finance-economy.djh
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