German FDP calls delay in Greek talks blow to euro
Reuters) - The interruption of talks between 
Greece  and international lenders on a new aid tranche is a blow to the  stability of Europe's currency, the deputy leader of Germany's junior  coalition partners said on Saturday.
  Christian Lindner, general  secretary of the Free Democrats, (FDP) junior coalition partners in  Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right government, said 
Athens was  endangering European solidarity.
"The  breakdown of talks between the Troika and Greece is a blow to the  stability of the euro," he said at a news conference in Berlin.
Referring  to Greece's failure to meet deficit targets set in exchange for a  second bailout package, Lindner said 
Athens was shirking  responsibilities to which it had agreed.
"This  is not about non-binding statements of intent, but contractually  secured reciprocity for the emergency loans," he said. "We insist these  agreements are observed."
Talks  between Greece and the EU, IMF and ECB were put on hold on Friday after  disagreement over why Athens has fallen behind schedule in cutting its  budget deficit and what it must do to catch up.
The  unplanned early departure of senior inspectors from the three bodies  showed tension between Athens and its lenders over reforms, as clouds  gathered over the second bailout package aiming to pull the country out  of a severe debt crisis.
Separately, senior FDP official Hermann Otto Solms, a vice-president of the Bundestag and an 
economy committee member in parliament said since 
Greece could not handle its debt problem and it should consider leaving the euro.
"It should be considered whether a restructuring and exit from the euro would offer better perspectives for the currency union and Greece itself," he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
The  pro-business FDP styles itself as a defender of the German taxpayer, a  stance Lindner reiterated in his statement over Greece.
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Taxpayers in Northern Europe and especially Germany cannot accept inability or reluctance. In the eyes of the FDP, Greece must reaffirm its will for stability and reform."
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Mediation  or postponements are no longer acceptable for us. The heads of the IMF  and euro countries should therefore travel to Athens immediately to  obtain binding declarations toward the fulfillment of the agreed goals."
In  another comment to a newspaper, Gerda Hasselfeldt, who chairs the group  of Chancellor 
Angela Merkel's Bavaria's sister party the Christian  Social Union (CSU) in parliament, said Greece was not doing enough to  tackle its debt problem.
"When you receive help, you must prove yourself reliable," she told the Tagesspiegel am Sonntag.