Greece is taking Europe 'on a bridge to nowhere' - Telegraph

By Szu Ping Chan, in Helsinki 13 June 2015

Delays to a bail-out agreement between Greece and its creditors is putting European taxpayers money at risk, warns Finland's central bank governor

Mr Liikanen agreed that Greece's budget targets should be lowered to reflect the performance of the economy, but said it could not be granted special treatment

Greece is taking the rest of Europe on to a "bridge to nowhere" by stalling on a debt deal, according to Finland's central bank governor, who said Athens's future in the Eurozone was now in the hands of its government.

Erkki Liikanen, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, said delays to a bail-out agreement between Greece and its creditors had put the money of other Europeans at risk.

"Countries that have supported Greece have taken a risk towards their own taxpayers. Most people want to have a solution, not just words, which are a bridge to nowhere," he said.

Mr Liikanen said there were limits to the concessions that could be made to Athens, because it was unfair to other countries such as Portugal and Ireland, which already pay much higher interest rates on their rescue loans.

Yannis Koutsomitis @YanniKouts

The whole 2015 Greek primary surplus debate is almost a joke. Varoufakis' own proposal end-March was 1.2%. Now the Greek gov't rejects 1%.

Yanis Varoufakis @yanisvaroufakis

@YanniKouts 1.2% was utterly feasible in late March. 1% infeasible after 3 more months of induced asphyxiation. Not a laughing matter...6:14 PM - 13 Jun 2015

Protesters take down a huge banner bearing a picture of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on a European Union flag from the ministry of finance in Athens (Photo: AFP)

"In late 2014 the Greek economy was moving into a good direction. If this uncertainty continues, the economy will be weak, and the problems will be bigger, so they need to have solutions which make the economy competitive," he said.

Mr Liikanen agreed that Greece's budget targets should be lowered to reflect the performance of the economy, but said it could not be granted special treatment.

Greece's creditors vented their frustration last week as a deal remained out of sight.

Donald Tusk, the EU’s president, warned last week: "There is no more time for gambling. The day is coming, I'm afraid, that someone says that the game is over."

Mr Liikanen also said the ECB remained committed to implementing its quantitative easing programme in full. Comparing it to a marathon, he said policymakers would continue to implement the €1.1 trillion programme with a "firm and steady" hand.

Greece is taking Europe 'on a bridge to nowhere' - Telegraph