Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager says he still believes Greece will pay back with interest all the money loaned to it by the Netherlands. “That’s my absolute starting point,” he said in a radio interview on Thursday.

However, the minister also explained that, if things do end up going wrong for Greece, the Netherlands will enjoy reasonable protection from the Paris Club - which mediates between creditor nations and states which cannot pay their debts. Mr De Jager went on to stress that the present crisis was going to cost the Netherlands money “whichever way you look at it”.

On Wednesday, Mr De Jager was forced onto the defensive when questioned by MPs on media reports suggesting the Dutch government – and in particular the minister himself – expected Greece to go bankrupt. Mr De Jager denied that there was any truth in the reports.

(mw/imm)

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