Helping Greece overcome its debt problems is necessary for euro zone stability but the bloc needs to be firmer with members if it wants to prevent future crises, French economy minister Christine Lagarde told a newspaper.
Greece yielded to overwhelming financial market pressure on Friday, appealing to its European partners and the International Monetary Fund for emergency loans in the first financial rescue of a euro zone member.
Asked by French paper Journal du Dimanche whether it was indulgent to support Greece rather than threaten to expel it from the euro zone, Lagarde said:
"It's a cocktail of indulgence and great strictness. We want to stabilise. But that doesn't prevent us from being firm, and we will need to watch the results very carefully," she was quoted as saying in the Sunday paper.
The French parliament will have to approve the rescue plan, and Lagarde said she hoped lawmakers would agree with her view that solidarity with a troubled partner did not mean being lax.
She said the euro zone needed to be more rigorous in the future in reining in its less disciplined members.
"With its incorrect data and unsuitable economic policies, Greece hasn't honoured its commitments. We will need stricter control mechanisms to make sure we don't fall into a bottomless pit. All that will be the mission of the European Commission and the IMF," she said.
To make sure Greece reimburses its aid, the funds would be released gradually according to its needs, she added. "In the case of default on repayment, we will immediately put the foot on the brake," she said.
