The Bundesbank has distanced itself from a report this morning that it opposed Europe’s fall-back plan for rescuing Greece. The Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper quoted a Bundesbank “internal paper” arguing that the plan would not stop German money flowing to Athens and threatened to undermine eurozone fiscal rules.
If that really were the Bundesbank’s view, it would be another blow for those hoping for united and effective eurozone support for Greece. But a Bundesbank spokesman said the paper was “not authorised” and was just the “first reaction” of an official. The paper had not been presented to the Bundesbank’s board, let alone been agreed. “A process of forming an opinion has not yet taken place,” it said.
What to make of it? The fact that the Bundesbank has not denied the paper’s existence, shows the resistance in some quarters to the Greek bail-out plans. But, wisely perhaps, the German central bank has not yet reached an official position. Possibly that will make it easier for eurozone policymakers to keep on muddling through.
