Temporary Grexit idea was backed by 15 nations, Schaeuble claims in documentary

The proposal for a temporary Greek withdrawal from the euro area, put forward by Berlin during negotiations in Brussels in mid-July, was backed by 15 out 19 eurozone nations, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said.

During an interview with Jean Quatremer for the documentary “Grece, le jour d'apres” (Greece, the day after) that was broadcast Tuesday on Franco-German TV network Arte, Schaeuble said that the ministers of France, Italy and Cyprus were the only ones to oppose the idea.

In the same interview, Schaeuble says that because of Greece’s sorry economic condition and dysfunctional state apparatus, a currency devaluation could help the country advance the necessary structural reforms.

“I explained that it would perhaps be in Greece’s own interest to leave the euro for a certain period of time so it could restore its economy and improve its competitiveness before it returned,” he said.

“But I never said that Greece should be kicked out.”