The eurozone would cope if Greece left the currency union, Germany’s finance minister said in an interview yesterday as Greek parties continued with efforts to form a coalition government.
Asked by the regional Rheinische Post whether the eurozone could withstand a Greek exit, German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble said: “Europe won’t sink that easily.”
“We want Greece to remain in the eurozone, but it also has to want this and to fulfill its obligations. We can’t force anyone,” Schaeuble said.
“We have learned a lot these past two years and have built protection mechanisms. The danger of contamination for other countries in the eurozone have become weaker and the eurozone as a whole has become more resistant,” Schaeuble said.
“The crisis has shown that one must act quickly and that Europe can act quickly ... the notion that we would not be capable of reacting in the short term to something unforeseen is false,” he added.
Schaeuble’s comments came as Socialists in Greece tried to cobble together a government, the third party to attempt to do so since Sunday’s elections gave a razor-thin majority in parliament to anti-austerity parties.
Germany and the EU have made it clear to Greece that it must abide by its austerity pledges if it wants to receive bailout funds, money that Athens needs to avoid a default.
If no party manages to form a coalition, the president is set to call new elections that observers say are likely to hand a greater majority in parliament to anti-austerity parties.
“No one is threatening anyone here, but we must be honest ... and tell our Greek friends and partners that there is no other way than the one that we have chosen together,” Schaeuble said in the interview.
“We have already done a lot,” he said, referring to two bailouts for Greece.
“Greece must understand that in exchange, it must fulfill its obligations,” he said.
It is “dangerous to tell tales to citizens, telling them that there is another, simpler way to heal Greece, avoiding all the trials. It’s absurd,” he said.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
RSS