德国财长称退出欧元区对希腊更好
BERLIN — Despite bitter opposition in many quarters to the austerity-first policies Germany has imposed on Europe’s poorer nations, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has hung on to its role as champion of integration on the Continent through deft use of diplomacy and the country’s economic clout.
柏林——尽管德国对欧洲较贫穷国家施加的紧缩优先政策在很多地方遭到了强烈反对，但凭借娴熟运用的外交手段和该国的经济影响力，总理默克尔领导的政府一直扮演着欧洲大陆一体化的支持者角色。
But in negotiating a new deal this week to bail out Greece, Germany displayed what many Europeans saw as a harder, more selfish edge, demanding painful measures from Athens and resisting any firm commitment to granting Greece relief from its crippling debt. And that perception was fueled on Thursday when the German finance minister, Wolfgang Sch, suggested that Greece would get its best shot at a substantial cut in its debt only if it was willing to give up membership in the European common currency.
但在很多欧洲人看来，本周谈判救助希腊的新协议的时候，德国的表现变得更加强硬、更加自私了；它要求雅典采取严苛的措施，而且在减免希腊沉重的债务方面，它反对提供任何坚定的承诺。而本周四，德国财政部长沃尔夫冈·朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Sch)的发言，进一步助长了这种看法，因为他暗示，希腊获得大幅债务减免的最佳途径，可能就是放弃欧元区成员国资格。
Mr. Sch stressed that he was not pushing the Greeks to take any particular course and that in any case he was only talking about a temporary exit from the euro. But coming a day before German lawmakers are to give the go-ahead to negotiate the details of the bailout package for Athens, his remarks were evidence of a continuing deep ambivalence among conservatives in Germany about the costs of keeping Greece in the currency zone and a greater willingness to question whether the goal of “ever-closer union” in Europe should be reassessed.
朔伊布勒强调，他并没有推动希腊采取任何特别的措施，而且无论如何，他说的也只是从欧元区暂时退出。但是，鉴于德国立法者第二天就要决定是否继续协商雅典救助计划细节，他的这番言论是一个证据，显示了对于让希腊留在欧元区的代价，德国保守派的心里仍然非常矛盾，也显示出他们越来越觉得，在欧洲“形成日益紧密的联盟”这个目标也许该进行重新评估。
Many in Germany still support the idea that keeping Greece in the eurozone is important for the future of the European Union, and German lawmakers are expected to support the new bailout plan, agreed to by European leaders early Monday after a contentious weekend of negotiations, when it comes up for a vote in Berlin on Friday.
德国仍然有很多人认为，希腊留在欧元区对于欧盟的未来很重要。经过上周末困难重重的谈判，本周一早些时候，欧洲领导人同意了对希腊的救助计划。德国立法者将于本周五在柏林表决，预计他们将对该计划予以支持。
But Mr. Sch’s reminder that another option exists — the second time he had raised the idea this week — came at a time when close partners like France are expressing greater willingness to help Greece and some Germans are uneasy that their finance minister’s handling of the situation has hurt their reputation in Europe and around the world.
但就在法国等与德国合作紧密的国家都表示倾向于帮助希腊的时候，朔伊布勒提醒人们还存在另一个选项——本周他已经是第二次提出了这一点——令一些德国人感到不安，觉得财政部长的做法有损于德国在欧洲和世界上的声望。
Critics of the German-led austerity policies have called for boycotts of German products and have suggested that Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sch had unjustifiably humiliated Greece and its prime minister, Alexis Tsipras. Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, said of the German stance over the weekend, “Enough is enough.”
一些人批评德国牵头的紧缩政策，呼吁抵制德国产品，并说默克尔和朔伊布勒无故侮辱了希腊及其总理齐普拉斯。上周末，意大利总理马泰奥·伦齐(Matteo Renzi)谈到德国的立场时说，“真是够了”。
Speaking in Berlin after meeting with members of the center-left Social Democratic Party, Jeroen Dijsselbloem of the Netherlands, who serves as the leader of the eurozone finance ministers, criticized Mr. Sch for raising the suggestion of a Greek exit. “If you reach an agreement after such long and hard talks, you have to stand behind it,” Mr. Dijsselbloem said. “And that goes for all sides.”
与中间偏左的社会民主党成员会晤后，欧元集团(Eurogroup)主席、荷兰人耶霍恩·戴塞尔布卢姆(Jeroen Dijsselbloem)在柏林发言，批评了朔伊布勒对希腊退出欧元区的建议。“如果你在这样漫长而艰难的谈判后达成了协议，你就要支持它，”戴塞尔布卢姆说。“各方都是这样。”
But within Germany, there is still strong backing for being tough on Greece, or even seeing it leave the euro rather than undermine the common currency’s chances of thriving in the future. Mr. Sch made his remarks in a radio interview hours after the Greek Parliament voted reluctantly to approve the first set of austerity measures demanded by its European creditors in return for a chance to negotiate the new bailout package, its third in five years. And his remarks came as some Greek officials asserted that he has been in favor of Greece leaving the euro all along.
但是在德国国内，也有人强烈支持对希腊持强硬态度，甚至希望希腊离开欧元区，省得削弱欧元未来蓬勃发展的机会。朔伊布勒在媒体采访中发表这番言论的数小时之前，希腊议会才勉强投通过了其欧洲债权人要求实施的第一批紧缩措施，以便获得洽谈新的救助计划的机会，这将是五年来的第三次救助。而且朔伊布勒这番言论出现的同时，一些希腊官员也说他赞成希腊退出欧元区。
“It is beginning to look like a very dirty game that he is playing,” Johannes Kahrs, a Social Democratic lawmaker, said of Mr. Sch.
“看起来他是在玩一个非常肮脏的游戏，”社会民主党议员约翰内斯·卡尔斯(Johannes Kahrs)谈到朔伊布勒时说。
Mr. Sch emphasized that no one was trying to dictate to Greece how it should proceed, but he made a case that forgiving a substantial amount of Greece’s public debt of more than 300 billion euros, or about $330 billion, is not compatible with membership in the eurozone.
朔伊布勒强调，没有人试图指示希腊应该如何行动，但他指出，要减免希腊逾3000亿欧元公共债务，这么庞大的金额，是不符合欧元区成员国资格的。
“We have not said that we will impose this, we can’t, we don’t want to, and no one has suggested it, but it would perhaps be the better way for Greece,” Mr. Sch said in the interview with Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday when asked about allowing Greece to take a time out from the eurozone.
“我们没有说会这样实施，我们不能、不想、也没有人建议这么做，但是对希腊来说，这可能会是更好的出路，”本周四在德意志广播电台(Deutschlandfunk Radio)的采访中，当被问及让希腊暂时从欧元区离开时，朔伊布勒回答说。
He also questioned whether the package that Greece was seeking would be enough to bring the country’s financial situation back into a manageable position.
他还质疑，希腊是否正在寻求的救助计划，是否足够让使该国的财政状况回到可管控的程度。
“Nobody knows in the moment how it is supposed to happen without debt relief, but everyone knows that debt relief is not possible within the eurozone,” Mr. Sch said.
“目前没有人知道，如果不减免债务，它如何做到那一点。但每个人都知道，在欧元区内不可能减免债务，”朔伊布勒说。
His position appeared to be based on European rules that are not interpreted as strictly by other nations, or by the International Monetary Fund, which called this week for deeper debt relief for Greece than Europe has so far been willing to consider. European rules for membership in the euro, such as those governing budget deficits, are routinely skirted or broken.
他的立场似乎是基于欧洲的一些规则得出的，但其他国家乃至国际货币基金组织（International Monetary Fund，简称IMF）对这些规则的解读似乎都没有德国那么严格。IMF本周呼吁，在欧洲目前愿意考虑的减债幅度的基础上，为希腊更深入地减免债务。欧洲针对欧元区成员资格的规则，例如约束预算赤字的规则，经常有国家不遵守，甚至公然违反。
Mr. Sch’s hard-line views on austerity and debt are not limited to him, or even to Germany. Much of Eastern Europe as well as a number of conservative northern countries share his view that Greece has been profligate and should be granted further aid only under the strictest conditions.
朔伊布勒对于紧缩和债务的强硬立场，不仅是他本人的态度，甚至不仅是德国的态度。许多东欧国家，以及一些保守的北欧国家，也赞同他的观点，认为希腊此前挥霍无度，只有施加最严格的条件才能提供进一步的救助。
But more than anyone, Mr. Sch has come to embody the consensus that has helped shape European economic policy for years: that the path to sustained economic recovery for financially troubled countries is to slash spending, raise taxes when necessary and win back the trust of bond markets and other investors by displaying commitment to fiscal prudence — even if that process imposes deep economic pain as it plays out. Supporters point to Ireland, Portugal and Spain as nations that have bounced back to varying degrees after austerity programs; critics point to Greece, which has remained economically troubled.
但是，朔伊布勒比任何人都更能代表一种共识。这个共识多年来一直帮助塑造着欧洲的经济政策：财政陷入困境的国家要想实现可持续的经济复苏，途径是削减开支、必要时提高税收，通过展示本国对审慎财政有多么笃定，重新赢得债券市场和投资者的信任——即使这一过程中会在经济领域带来深深的苦痛。支持者指出，爱尔兰、葡萄牙和西班牙在实施紧缩计划后，都实现了不同程度的反弹。批评人士则以希腊作为反例，指出该国仍然深陷经济困境。
Germany’s finance minister since the Greek crisis first erupted in 2010, Mr. Sch is known as resilient and forceful, with a Germanic embrace of the rules and a Nietzschean attitude of “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” He has held offices in four German governments, from Helmut Kohl’s chief of staff, to Ms. Merkel’s interior and finance minister. Even an attempt on his life in 1990 that left him using a wheelchair kept him from the political stage for less than a year.
自希腊债务危机2010年爆发以来，朔伊布勒一直是德国财政部长。外界熟知他态度强硬，也能承受压力，既有德意志式的尊重规则的风格，也有尼采式态度：“只要不能杀死我们，就会让我们更强大”。他在四届德国政府中担任过职务，从赫尔穆特·科尔(Helmut Kohl)的幕僚长，到默克尔的内政部长和财政部长。1990年有人试图刺杀他，不过未能得逞，但之后朔伊布勒需要借轮椅代步。遭遇袭击后不到一年，他就又回归政坛。
Ms. Merkel has ruled out forgiving any of Greece’s debt but has left the door open to a new negotiation over extending the payment terms or reducing interest rates to help bring down Greece’s annual debt payments. But the I.M.F. and some other countries, including the United States, are pressing for Germany to lead Europe in doing more to help Greece.
默克尔排除了豁免希腊任何债务的可能性，但是愿意开展新的谈判，讨论延长还款期限或降低利率，从而降低希腊每年的还款负担。然而IMF，连同包括美国在内的其他一些国家都在施压，要求德国引领欧洲，做出更大的努力去帮助希腊。
“I think the I.M.F. raising the debt sustainability issue as clearly as they did, the United States making clear that sustainability had to be dealt with, was a helpful contribution to the conversation because without dealing with some form of debt restructuring, this problem will just come right back,” a senior United States Treasury official said on Thursday, as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew traveled through Europe.
“我想，IMF明确地提出了债务可持续性的问题，而美国也阐明可持续性的问题必须要加以解决，这对整个对话是有益的贡献。因为如果不着手采取某种形式的债务重组，这个问题还会再出现，”美国财政部一名高级官员周四表示。目前，美国财政部长雅各布·卢(Jack Lew)正在欧洲穿梭访问。
Still, some conservative German lawmakers have indicated ahead of Friday’s vote that they hold reservations about whether they believe Greece fully meets the conditions required to tap assistance from the European Union’s bailout fund, much less qualifies for debt relief.
不过，一些保守派德国议员在周五的表决前表示，他们对于希腊是否完全满足得到欧盟救援资金的条件，仍然持保留态度，更遑论债务减免。
At a vote to extend the previous bailout package in February, a record number of dissenters from the chancellor’s conservative camp showed growing impatience with the anti-austerity government in Athens, with 29 voting against it. An additional 109 from the some 310 conservative lawmakers indicated they had reservations, although they went along with the vote.
今年2月在就上一宗救援计划的延期进行表决时，德国总理所属的保守派阵营中，持反对意见的议员人数超过了从前任何时间，他们对反对紧缩的希腊政府越来越缺乏耐心，有29人投了反对票。此外，在大约310名保守派议员中，还有另外109名表示他们持保留意见，只是在表决时投了赞成票。
Mr. Sch signaled on Thursday that it might be difficult to reduce the burden of Greece’s debt payments sufficiently without some debt forgiveness — a step that he said could not be taken while Greece is a member of the common currency area.
朔伊布勒周四暗示，如果不做出一些债务减免，或许很难充分削减希腊的偿债负担。而他表示，只要希腊是单一货币联盟的成员国，债务减免就无法实行。
“The more difficult question will be to reach sustainability of the debt, whether a package that is large enough can be agreed upon without any debt reduction,” Mr. Sch said. “Then we are back in the situation that debt reduction is not allowed in the eurozone.”
“较为困难的问题在于达到债务的可持续性，各方能否在不减免债务的前提下，就金额足够大的援助方案达成共识，”朔伊布勒说。“然后我们就又回到了欧元区内不允许减免债务的情况。”
Some analysts said the German finance minister’s discussion of a “temporary” exit from the eurozone for Greece was a veiled attempt to push it out of the 19-member currency union for good. Sony Kapoor, an analyst at Re-Define, a research organization, recalled Mr. Sch expressing similar thoughts back in 2012.
一些分析人士称，德国财长谈到让希腊“暂时”退出欧元区，这是含蓄地想把希腊永远地赶出19个成员国的货币联盟。研究机构Re-Define的分析师索尼·卡普尔(Sony Kapoor)回忆道，朔伊布勒在2012年就曾表达过类似的想法。
“The idea behind couching it in temporary terms is to make it sound less onerous and a bit more compliant with the legal situation,” Mr. Kapoor said. “There is nothing as permanent as a temporary divorce.”
“以暂时的口吻表达这种设想，用意是让它显得没那么沉重，而且更符合法律状况，”卡普尔说。“世间没有比‘临时离婚’更永恒的事情了。”
