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Voultepsi-Greece is exiting the memorandums

Voultepsi-Greece is exiting the memorandums

Greece is exiting the memorandum programmes but taking precautions against potentially hostile markets, government spokesman Sofia Voultepsi stressed in statements to the radio stations 'Skai' and 'Parapolitika' on Friday.

"Greece is exiting the memorandums but, because it was proved that markets can be hostile toward [Greece], we need to be shielded. We are setting up something entirely new. This is the creation of a credit line for support, so that markets do not feel that Greece is not shielded," she said.

The spokeswoman also noted that it may be necessary "for technical reasons" for a small period of a few weeks to elapse, at most one month, in order to settle "certain technical issues" in this respect.

"Because the money in the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) is 11.4 billion euros, we are discussing whether the money of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has been set aside for Greece until the end of 2016, can be added to boost the sum in the HFSF. That does not mean that we will use it, but it will be a deterrent in case the markets want to behave in the way they behaved in October," she said.

Voultepsi laid blame on main opposition SYRIZA and its attitude for market wariness, pointing out that the opposition parties in Ireland and Portugal had "lain low" until their countries had exited memorandum programmes.

"SYRIZA wants the IMF to stay, it does not want to let them leave. Because if it lets them leave, it cannot say all these extreme things that have been making markets jittery since October and that it continued to say in the City in London, even as the government was negotiating in Paris," she claimed, adding that SYRIZA was "making all the right noises" in order to prevent Greece's exit from bailout memorandums.

"The markets can hear, [SYRIZA] is not saying these things to itself," she added.

The spokeswoman additionally suggested that SYRIZA's programme would lead to more migrants receiving Greek nationality, based on the presentation of the party's programme made in London by SYRIZA MP George Stathakis.

"He not only said it but it was also written down. In point five [of the Five Basic Reforms]," she pointed out, suggesting that SYRIZA was trying to assure market players that there would be plentiful cheap labour in Greece.

"Where will 1.5 million Greeks find work if SYRIZA intends to guarantee to foreigners that it will bring more foreigners here," she concluded.