ECB, Commission Working On Greek Exit Plans

The European Commission and the European Central Bank are drawing up plans should Greece abandon the euro, Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in an interview published Friday, the first time a senior official in the European Union executive has acknowledged such preparations.

The ECB and the commission are "working on emergency scenarios in case Greece does not make it," De Gucht said in an interview with the Flemish newspaper De Standaard. Phone calls to and messages left from Dow Jones Newswires to De Gucht's office were not returned.

A commission spokeswoman denied that contingency plans for a Greek exit were under way. An ECB spokesman said in an e-mail the bank doesn't "engage in any speculations about any emergency plans or possible scenarios and therefore do not comment Commissioner De Gucht's statement." The "immutable preference" is for Greece to stay in the currency bloc, he said, echoing comments Wednesday from ECB President Mario Draghi. More...