Germans stick to rules demanding euros back

BY MICHAEL BERNBAUM / STEPHANIE KIRCHNER

ATHENS, July 7 –  Maybe the German leader meant to reassure Greece when he promised emergency assistance of food and medicine. But to many in the embattled Mediterranean nation, it sounded more like a threat.

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The hard line on Greece adopted by Europe’s economic powerhouse has, if anything, strengthened in the days since Greek voters resoundingly rejected tougher cuts, sending shock waves through the continent.

Now Germany is refusing to budge on cutting Greece’s mountain of debt, even as the leftist leadership here — and the International Monetary Fund — insist that no deal is viable without such a reduction. This tough stance comes from a rules-oriented nation where even the language is conspiring against Greece’s struggles: Germans use the same word for “debt” and for “guilt.”  Read more

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Germans would rather send humanitarian aid than forgive Greece’s debts

PHOTO: AFP