BERLIN
Germany has turned down calls by the newly elected Greek government to abolish the "troika" of international creditors overseeing the terms of its "bailout" and austerity program.
The response on Monday came a week after the new coalition government of Greece, led by the radical left party Syriza, won national elections with a platform strongly opposed to the austerity measures and calling for the abolishment of the troika mechanism, managed by the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission.
Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said at a press conference in Berlin: “The German government sees no reason to deviate from the proven mechanism of the troika."
She argued that the troika has been a pragmatic instrument in evaluating the economic program of Greece.
German daily Handelsblatt also reported on Monday that European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker was also considering replacing the “troika” mechanism with a new body.
New deal
Wirtz said Germany was in close dialogue with the European Commission but there had been no indication to date of a need for abolishing the troika.
Athens is seeking to restructure the debt payments, ideally with creditors taking a reduction -- or "haircut" -- as well.
New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will travel to Rome and Paris this week in a bid to seek the support of Italian and French governments for a new deal on the terms of the Greek bailout.
Wirtz said that there was no concrete plan for Tsipras to visit Berlin ahead of an EU leaders' summit on Feb. 12.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out canceling any of Greece's debt in an interview with the German daily Hamburger Abendblatt on Saturday.
She told the newspaper: "There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors – banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt.
"I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation."
