Austria calls for Eurozone exit mechanism

Austria’s foreign minister called yesterday for the eurozone to create a legal mechanism to facilitate kicking member states that do not live up to their promises out of the currency union.

“We need to create ways to be able to eject someone from the Eurozone,” Michael Spindelegger, who is also deputy chancellor, told the Kurier daily newspaper in an interview due to be published on Friday but already available online.

This mechanism, which he said would need to be created by changing European Union treaties – a process that he says could easily take five years – would be for countries “that don’t meet their commitments.”

“If we already had this... then we would already have drawn the consequences,” he said in what the paper said was a clear reference to Greece.

The troubled country has already secured two bailout packages and could need more.

The centre-right Mr Spindelegger said that creating an exit mechanism would bolster market confidence in the euro, and that it would be supported by euro members including Germany, Luxembourg, Finland and The Netherlands.