The European Commission never had a plan B on Greece and the only option has always been the integrity of the eurozone, deputy chief spokesperson Alexander Winterstein has told CNA, when invited to comment on “plan B” leaks of various agents of the then Greek administration, on the occasion of the annual commemoration of the 5th of July referendum.

“When you talk about leaks, you should refer the question to those that the leaks come from. On the plans, you know very well that the Commission never had a plan B. We only had a plan A and we did bring a stability support program from Greece which did keep the Eurozone together and anchored Greece firmly within the euro,” he noted.

For the present, he added, “responsibility and solidarity go together and the exit of Greece from the euroarea never was and never will be an option. And today what we see that confidence, stability and also growth are returning and we see first results of the latest efforts and I think these results are also cause for hope.”

Greece, he pointed out, “has now the opportunity to turn the corner and return to sustainable and fair growth that will produce new jobs and as we have also said in some occasion, what we need now is broad political support, full ownership and efficient implementation on all sides. It is this implementation I think which is key at the moment.”