Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

German chancellor backs eurozone exclusions

Updated at 8:03 am on 18 March 2010

Germany is pressing the 16 eurozone countries to consider harsher measures to safeguard the stability of the European single currency.

In a speech to parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the eurozone must have the option of excluding a member state if it persistently flouted the rules.

She told the Bundestag that existing EU rules were not strong enough to deal with the current crisis triggered by Greece.

Exclusion from the 16-nation eurozone would be a "last resort", she said.

Germany, seen as the driving force of the euro system, is reluctant to bail out Greece's debt-laden economy, the BBC reports.

But Mrs Merkel said no eurozone country would be left on its own to deal with the current crisis.

Greece's budget deficit - four times higher than EU rules allow - has raised fears of possible contagion in the eurozone.

Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand