German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched an outspoken defense of the European project on Wednesday, but warned that the bloc's richest nation would not make bailout promises to solve the eurozone crisis that it cannot keep.
Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, Merkel said Germany is rightly seen as being relatively strong. But if her country commits to paying for a huge expansion of the eurozone's bailout funds, and even that is torpedoed by the capital markets, then there is a real problem.
Merkel told a standing room-only crowd that the "people say it has to be double, then it has to be triple, then we will believe you."
"We have said right from the start we wish to stand up for the euro, but we don't want to ... make a promise that we can't fulfil."
The eurozone set up a temporary bail-out fund -- the European Financial Stability Facility -- after Greece's first bail-out in May 2010. It initially had €250 billion ($326 billion) in lending capacity, which was later boosted to €440 billion as more eurozone countries stumbled. Read more at CNN...
Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, Merkel said Germany is rightly seen as being relatively strong. But if her country commits to paying for a huge expansion of the eurozone's bailout funds, and even that is torpedoed by the capital markets, then there is a real problem.
Merkel told a standing room-only crowd that the "people say it has to be double, then it has to be triple, then we will believe you."
"We have said right from the start we wish to stand up for the euro, but we don't want to ... make a promise that we can't fulfil."
The eurozone set up a temporary bail-out fund -- the European Financial Stability Facility -- after Greece's first bail-out in May 2010. It initially had €250 billion ($326 billion) in lending capacity, which was later boosted to €440 billion as more eurozone countries stumbled. Read more at CNN...
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