By N. Bellos
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An exit of foreign companies from Greece would complicate efforts by creditors and partners to restore the country’s credibility and to again lure investments back to the still bailout-dependent country, EU sources said in Brussels on Monday, in the wake of the Eldorado Gold announcement warning of a suspension of its Greek operations.
The same sources said it was almost certain that Euro zone and Commission officials will broach the matter with the Greek government, speaking a day after the Canadian multinational pointed to systematic foot-dragging by Athens.
The next venue on the calendar for Euro zone member-states is an informal Eurogroup meeting on Friday in Tallinn, Estonia.
In a carefully worded reply to a press question on Monday in Brussels over the Eldorado decision, Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein declined to comment directly, merely saying that “enhancing competitiveness through measures that improve the environment to do business and to invest are critical to the sustainable economic recovery in Greece and to reducing unemployment there”.
He emphasized that the memorandum of understanding in the stability support program (bailout) for Greece includes a wide variety of measures towards this direction.
The spokesman also deflected a second question over the “uproar” caused by Eldorado Gold’s decision, which , however, includes a deadline of Sept. 21 of overcoming the obstacles.
