(25 Mar 2010)
1. Wide of German parliament in session
2. Close up of German Chancellor Angela Merkel talking to opposition leader Frank Walter Steinmeier
3. Wide of Merkel and Steinmeier
4. Cutaway of cameramen
5. SOUNDBITE: (German) Angela Merkel, German Chancellor:
"The Federal Government will push at the summit today and tomorrow that in an emergency, such help could come as combination of IMF and bilateral aid within the eurozone, but I''m saying once again - only as a last resort. I will support such success of such a decision, IMF plus bilateral aid, with determination, and will work closely together with France there."
6. Close up of lawmakers
7. SOUNDBITE (German) Angela Merkel, German Chancellor:
"It is downright absurd, to make Germany, with it''s competitive economy, as a quasi scapegoat for the current development. Our critics in Europe fail to see that our income from exports partially flow back to countries in debt and that Germany is also the largest importer for Europe."
8. Close up of German national emblem
STORYLINE:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is insisting that any European bailout for Greece be only a last resort and must involve the International Monetary Fund, rebuffing calls from EU officials and other euro nations to come up with a definite rescue plan at a Thursday summit of EU leaders.
Market worries over the lack of a safety net for a member of Europe''s currency union drove the euro down to 1.3325 US dollars, its lowest level since May. A euro bought 1.51 US dollars in late November.
Merkel, leader of the EU''s largest member state, voiced strong opposition to an easy bailout programme for Greece at the German parliament, saying she could only allow aid in an "exceptional emergency" where Greece was unable to borrow from bond markets.
"In an emergency, such help could come as combination of IMF and bilateral aid within the eurozone, but I''m saying once again - only as a last resort," she said on Thursday.
Greece has been able to borrow by selling government bonds, but only at high interest rates that Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou says are crippling his efforts to plug a huge budget deficit. He is calling on European leaders to agree an aid plan at a two-day summit starting on Thursday.
Merkel was not sympathetic, saying any plan should only kick in as a last resort when the stability of the euro is threatened and if a state no longer has access to global markets, meaning when Greece could in practical terms no longer sell its bonds.
Germany sees itself as a fierce defender of prudent budget spending and is unwilling to use its taxpayer money to help Greece, which overspent and faked budget figures for years.
Merkel claimed France would join Germany in supporting a decision involving the IMF and individual loans from eurozone nations.
France has been reluctant to call on the IMF, and the European Central Bank has been fiercely opposed, seeing it as interference in Europe''s currency union.
The Washington, DC-based international lending agency has already bailed out three European Union members, Hungary, Romania and Latvia, but none uses the euro. Calling in the IMF would underline the eurozone''s inability to deal with the crisis on its own.
Europe''s socialist party, which counts Spanish and Greek leaders as members, isn''t keen either.
However, the failure of the 16 euro nations to prevent Greece and other countries running up huge debts, or bail them out when they get into trouble, shows up the flaws in the way the currency is managed.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
