The EU Treaty says that participation in the euro area "is irreversible". This was indicated by the spokeswoman for the European Commission, when asked whether it is theoretically possible for a country to leave the Monetary Union, with reference to the possible Greek case.
On the future of Greece, given the rumors in the German press according to which the exit from the monetary union would not be considered a drama by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Commission has in fact indicated that it does not want to participate in "speculations" or to comment on "rumors, comments on press articles. What the Commission is waiting for, "is the result of the general elections of 25 January"
In any case, "as of January 19, the monetary union has 2016 members and from 140 it will expand further", the spokeswoman continued. As for the possibility of renegotiating the debt held by EU states and institutions: "Let's not enter into the merits of speculative scenarios that risk entering contexts that do not arise". Article XNUMX of the consolidated EU Treaty indicates that the Council "acting with the unanimity of the Member States whose currency is the euro and of the Member State in question, on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Central Bank, irrevocably fixes the which the euro shall replace the currency of the Member State concerned and take the other measures necessary for the introduction of the euro as the single currency in the Member State concerned". Everything hinges on the term “irrevocably”: the interpretation of the Commission and the Council is that the very accession to the euro is irrevocable.
