George Osborne Quotes

I described the euro as a burning building with no exits and so it has proved for some of the countries in it.

I hope Greece is going to remain in the Euro zone.

The Greek debt issue, for example, is such a threat because if that country ever defaulted, it might cause some bank that's 'too big to fail' to actually fail.

Bankruptocracy is as much a European predicament as it is an American 'invention.' The difference between the experience of the two continents is that at least Americans did not have to labour under the enormous design faults of the eurozone.

It will not be possible to solve the current crisis with euro bonds.

So it won't be a surprise when the Greek default actually happens and we expect it one way or the other to be relatively soon.

The euro zone must strike for a better governance structure, and there is no alternative to that. Euro zone countries must either develop an exit mechanism for troubled members, or it should embrace a closer political union: an effective governance structure that is capable of enforcing rules.

We are near, very near, to an end to the eurozone crisis... The worst - in the sense of the fear of the eurozone breaking up - is over. But the best isn't there yet.

If we were the problem, it would be very convenient - kick Greece out, everything's fine. What would happen to Spain, what about Portugal, what about Italy, what about the whole of the euro zone? We need more cooperation and less simplification and prejudice.

More cuts were needed to avoid exiting the eurozone.

We only have a Plan A. The acceptance and full implementation of the existing plan, the so-called Plan A, is the best solution for Greece, for the euro zone and also for creditors and holders.

Europe and the euro zone have no reason, rationally, to push Greece out of the euro. But this is a system in which many parties, many countries, many governments, many electorates participate and we could have events which, rationally, are not controllable.

Few in Europe imagined the incompetence and dishonesty of Greek economic managers would bring the entire European project into question.

We saw in Greece how dangerous it is if a country has a bigger and bigger debt, and I hope that we will not have a second Greece in our neighbouring country, Italy.

Brexit is a disaster, Italy won't be real about its debt, and the European Union is in trouble.

The EU is mired in deep structural crisis. Greece, Portugal and Ireland cannot survive inside the Euro.

So when you are faced with a decision on the euro, it is not surprising that many people are confused. They still try to squeeze the euro debate into the old language. But deep down it is a matter of deciding where one's future lies. It is a matter of political will and courage.

The shadow of an exit of Greece from the euro zone takes on ever clearer shape, repeated apparently final attempts to reach a deal are starting to make the whole process look ridiculous. There is an ever greater number of people who feel as if the Greek government is giving them the run-around.

Those who are saying that Mario Draghi is in the camp of those trying to push Greece outside the Euroarea, are wrong.

Greece is at a dangerous crossroads. Other countries-Portugal, Ireland, maybe Spain-are coming behind it.

The current Eurozone is obviously dysfunctional. And serious people within Germany and elsewhere know this to be the case and know things cannot function this way forever.

The euro is... a failed currency, a wrong currency, a failed experiment.

Money and success haven't really changed my beliefs or opinions over the years. When I was growing up, my mum and dad split when I was 13 or 14, during the early-Nineties recession. At that time, my dad went bankrupt, and it played a huge part in it all at home.

In my mind, there is arguably a greater risk of a default on the debt of a U.S. state than there is on the debt of a euro-area member. I consider it unthinkable that a euro-area country would default.

The very welfare state the Occupy Wall Street protesters so eagerly applaud is what has saddled Greece with colossal debt and left its economy on the brink of collapse, igniting violent protests across the nation.