Eurozone Quotes

The eurozone status quo is neither tolerable nor stable. Mainstream economists would call it an inferior equilibrium; I call it a nightmare - one that is inflicting tremendous pain and suffering that could be easily avoided if the misconceptions and taboos that sustain it were dispelled. ~ George Soros

We're very proud to be part of the eurozone. But this comes with obligations and it is crucial we show the world we can live up to those obligations. ~ George Papandreou

Obama occasionally pointed out that the post–Cold War moment was always going to be transitory. The rest of the world will accede to American leadership, but not dominance. I remember a snippet from a column around 9/11: America bestrides the world like a colossus. Did we? It was a story we told ourselves. Shock and awe. Regime change. Freedom on the march. A trillion dollars later, we couldn't keep the electricity running in Baghdad. The Iraq War disturbed other countries - including U.S. allies - in its illogic and destruction, and accelerated a realignment of power and influence that was further advanced by the global financial crisis. By the time Obama took office, a global correction had already taken place. Russia was resisting American influence. China was throwing its weight around. Europeans were untangling a crisis in the Eurozone.

Obama didn't want to disengage from the world; he wanted to engage more. By limiting our military involvement in the Middle East, we'd be in a better position to husband our own resources and assert ourselves in more places, on more issues. To rebuild our economy at home. To help shape the future of the Asia Pacific and manage China's rise. To open up places like Cuba and expand American influence in Africa and Latin America. To mobilize the world to deal with truly existential threats such as climate change, which is almost never discussed in debates about American national security. ~ Ben Rhodes

An overwhelming number of economists, international civil servants, and policy-makers argue that a fragmentation of the Eurozone would cause a new depression and massive wealth destruction around the world. It would also end the period of economic integration that has characterized world politics since the end of the Cold War. ~ Klaus Schwab

I can confirm that Poland should become a eurozone country, and not just because of the treaties that have been signed, but because I consider it of strategic interest both for Poland and the E.U. ~ Donald Tusk

Many have wondered if Greece's economy would get so bad that it would eventually break away from the Eurozone - a move that could encourage other countries to follow and therefore splinter the currency union. ~ Jens Nordvig

The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part. ~ Nigel Lawson

Very serious mistakes were made by previous governments, and Greece was ready to be abandoned by its partners and to leave the eurozone, which would have created total catastrophe. ~ Antonis Samaras

Dealing with Greece's problems will be more difficult if Greece is not a member of the eurozone. ~ Lucas Papademos

More cuts were needed to avoid exiting the eurozone. ~ Lucas Papademos

The Eurozone has clearly gone spectacularly wrong, pulling down all the continental economies. ~ Timothy Garton Ash

We all have our problems and we are working to find a solution to ours and also to help the eurozone. We expect that other countries should do the same, that they be prudent in their statements. ~ Mariano Rajoy

If I had political responsibility, I would want to prepare for a plan B that would foresee that the European currency union, that the eurozone, no longer necessarily consists of 17 member states. And that means to make provisions so that other countries are not pulled into the maelstrom through contagion. ~ Peer Steinbruck

Britain is not in the single currency, and we're not going to be. But we all need the eurozone to have the right governance and structures to secure a successful currency for the long term. ~ David Cameron

This is a very special Greek kind of socialist, all the social democratic parties in Europe are against this idea and I think that the dividing line today in the Greek political system is not the centre right or socialist, the real dividing line is between those parties and those political forces who really believe that Greece should stay in the Eurozone and make the efforts and change, and make the reforms and change the old and Mr Tsipras who is really resisting any kind of change in Greece. ~ Dora Bakoyannis

Whatever new arrangements are enacted for the Eurozone, they must work fairly for those inside it and out. ~ David Cameron

We believe that what they call "Grexit" [a Greek exit from the eurozone] is not an option for us. ~ Antonis Samaras

Greece wishes to be part of the eurozone, but it must, of course, go through with the necessary reforms to make this happen. ~ Angela Merkel

Our eurozone partners have made it clear: The choice is between staying in or getting out of the eurozone. ~ Lucas Papademos

A Syriza government will respect Greece's obligation as a eurozone member to maintain a balanced budget and will commit to quantitative targets. ~ Alexis Tsipras

I thank all of those deputies who supported the government and gave it a vote of confidence. I believe each of those votes represents a responsible decision to avoid placing our country's membership of the eurozone in danger. ~ Lucas Papademos

Bankruptocracy is as much a European predicament as it is an American 'invention.' The difference between the experience of the two continents is that at least Americans did not have to labour under the enormous design faults of the eurozone. ~ Yanis Varoufakis

Anyone who toys with the idea of cutting off bits of the eurozone hoping the rest will survive is playing with fire. ~ Yanis Varoufakis

The interesting thing is that the 82% of the Greeks do not want to abandon the Euro. They really believe that there might be some kind of magical way where we could stay in the Eurozone but do not do our homework. This is not possible. So what we are trying to do is explain, you know, we in Greece invented democracy but we also invented at the same time populism. ~ Dora Bakoyannis

While holding the eurozone together will be costly and difficult and painful for the politicians, breaking it up will be even more costly and more difficult, ~ Barry Eichengreen

As one looks back, one sees that the fall of the Berlin Wall opened the door to three developments - the Eurozone, which was crafted around German unification, the free movement of peoples within Europe, particularly people from the new democracies of Eastern Europe, and, more broadly, it opened the door to globalization. ~ Timothy Garton Ash

The politics of banking is bad everywhere, including UK. Eurozone has more problems, unhealthy symbiosis. ~ Anat R. Admati

I believe the ones who stand up for what we say, which is stay inside the Eurozone, try to fix some things in the memorandum and try to help Greece get out of this mess without leaving the Eurozone, without leaving Europe. ~ Eva Kaili

The euro has become a means by which superior German productivity is able to gain an absolutely unbeatable advantage over the whole eurozone territory. ~ Boris Johnson

Fundamental questions are being asked about the future of the Eurozone and therefore the shape of the EU itself. Opportunities to advance our national interest are clearly becoming apparent. We should focus on how to make the most of this, not pursue a parliamentary process for a multiple choice referendum. ~ David Cameron