Dutch European Commissioner Neelie Kroes says she backs the Commission's line on the Greek debt crisis. In an interview published in Dutch daily de Volkskrant on Tuesday, Ms Kroes spoke about the possibility of Greece leaving the eurozone.

According to a spokesperson for the European Commission, Ms Kroes told an EC meeting today that her words had been wrongly interpreted. De Volkskrant says Ms Kroes approved of the interview text before it was published.

In the interview, Ms Kroes said the possible departure of Greece from the eurozone would not lead to the collapse of the monetary union: 
“People keep saying: ‘If a country leaves or is asked to leave, then the whole system will collapse’. But it is simply not true.''

During the committee meeting, Ms Kroes expressed her support for the line taken by the European Commission, that Greece should remain in the eurozone. The spokesperson stressed that there are no disagreements within the Commission on policies relating to the Greek debt crisis.

(nc/imm)

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