Taboo eases on talk of Greek euro zone exit

Reuters
July 8, 2011

Dismissed as foolish fantasy a year ago, the prospect of Greece leaving the euro zone has become a topic worthy of serious discussion among experts handling the crisis in recent weeks.

In public, the official line remains that no member will exit the single currency bloc, but policymakers are at least willing to exchange views on an intellectual level.

Is thinking the unthinkable a first step toward carrying it out? It would not be the first time euro zone officials have put the impossible into action.

In bailing out Greece, Ireland and Portugal, the bloc has already broken its rule that member states cannot assume the liabilities of others -- the supposed "no bailout" clause.

One of the senior euro zone officials involved in crafting the rescue packages, who is leaving Brussels after several years, was asked to write an assessment for their government of the crisis with a view on where the situation was headed in the coming years.

Wondering whether there would still be 17 members of the single currency by the end of the decade, the official opined in the report, the contents of which were related to Reuters:

"There may well still be 17 members, but whether it will be the same 17 members is an open question."

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