Finance minister George Papaconstantinou denied scenarios that Greece would leave the euro currency, in an interview with the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa.

Asked if it would be easier for Greece, as suggested in a controversial article in the German magazine Der Spiegel, that Greece leave the euro currency, Papaconstantinou replied "no, that is impossible".(ANA-MPA)

"No, that is not possible. First of all because there is no mechanism for a country's exit from the euro. The consequences would be catastrophic: The fiscal deficit would double, the buying power would collapse, the banks would be hard hit, and we would fall into a war-period recession," Papaconstantinou explained.(ANA-MPA)

On restructuring of the state debt, Papaconstantinou said he continues to maintain that the cost of a restructuring largely outweighs any possible positive effects, warning that if Greece unilaterally imposed losses on holders of state bonds, the markets would exclude it for a very long time because the consequences to the banking system would be incalculable.(ANA-MPA)

The finance reiterated that only intensification of the streamlining measures, with the achievement of a primary surplus and return to growth can, in the medium-term, convince the markets.(ANA-MPA)

On Greece's return to the international markets, Papaconstantinou noted that six months in a huge space of time, and expressed his belief that after the summer, when the streamlining and privatisations plan will have progressed, the markets will settle down.