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Germany’s Gabriel says EU break-up no longer unthinkable

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Germany’s insistence on austerity in the euro zone has left Europe more divided than ever and a break-up of the European Union is no longer inconceivable, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Der Spiegel magazine.

Gabriel, whose Social Democrats (SPD) are junior partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in her ruling grand coalition, said strenuous efforts by countries like France and Italy to reduce their fiscal deficits came with political risks.

“I once asked the chancellor, what would be more costly for Germany: for France to be allowed to have half a percentage point more deficit, or for Marine Le Pen to become president?” he said, referring to the leader of the far-right National Front.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-europe-idUSKBN14R0G8?il=0

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Greeks Vote NO !

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FINANCE MINISTER RESIGNS AFTER DECISIVE ‘NO’ BAILOUT VOTE

BY ELENA BECATOROS AND DEMETRIS NELLAS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned Monday, saying he was told shortly after Greece’s decisive referendum result that some other eurozone finance ministers and the country’s other creditors would appreciate his not attending the ministers’ meetings.

Varoufakis said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had judged that his resignation “might help achieve a deal” and that he was leaving the finance ministry for that reason.

“I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride,” Varoufakis said in his announcement.

Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject creditors’ proposal of more austerity measures in return for rescue loans, in the country’s first referendum in 41 years Sunday.

The referendum “will stay in history as a unique moment when a small European nation rose up against debt-bondage,” Varoufakis said.

With his brash style and fondness for frequent media appearances at the start of his tenure at the ministry when the new government was formed in January, Varoufakis had visibly annoyed many of the eurozone’s finance ministers during Greece’s debt negotiations.

There was no immediate announcement of his replacement.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_BAILOUT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-05-16-04-15