There is little legal basis for Wolfgang Schäuble’s claim that debt restructuring is incompatible with euro membership

One of the key legal arguments in relation to the Greek debt crisis is whether a restructuring of Greece’s debt would be compatible with the rules contained in the EU’s treaty framework. Carsten Gerner-Beuerle writes that while several actors, notably the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, have argued that a debt cut is incompatible with membership of the Eurozone, there is no consensus on this principle and the interpretation taken by the European Court of Justice in other cases suggests that debt relief may be covered by the treaties.