Schaeuble: No to a new Greek debt haircut

German FinMin Wolfgang Schaeuble appeared negative on the possibility of a new haircut on the Greek debt.

In an interview with Bild newspaper he said "Greece has bigger problems than the other countries in crisis and therefore it will take longer for her to stand on her own two feet. With this as a given, we said when adopting the current program and reiterated before the election that in mid-2014 we will see if we should support Greece again, after the expiry of this program at the end of 2014, if the country has met its obligations. It will be a much smaller amount than what we have paid under the current program. And it will not a debt haircut. We did one in late 2011 - early 2012, and that's enough."

Schaeuble characterizes the successful exit of Ireland and Spain from support programs as proof that "the European policy linking the aid programs with reforms was successful. The worst is behind us, but a lot has to be done still."

When asked as to how he will prevent the possibility of Europe falling into a crisis once again, Schaeuble replied as Deutsche Welle says, "by the consistent continuation of policy reforms. The countries in crisis should put their budget in order and continue with their structural reforms. Only a competitive Europe is strong and resistant to crises."

Regarding the indebted banks, Schaeuble notes that "Europe will have regulations of responsibility, which will state that in the event of problems they should be addressed by the shareholders and creditors. Our main goal is to protect taxpayers and especially the German taxpayers."