set timeline. in other words, the key pillars and objectives of the programme must not be put into doubt. it is thus significant that the greek prime minister said to the parliament last week that he intends to implement the bail - out agreement with no delays and to conclude the review successfully. the greek government should show that it has taken ownership of the various programme deliverables and is determined to achieve them. with the benefit of hindsight, how close were we to a “ grexit ”? is this scenario now off the table for good? you know, i have been asked this question so many times, in press conferences, in the eurogroup and in the european council. my answer has invariably been that the ecb has bis central bankers ’ speeches always acted on the assumption that the current members of the european monetary union will stay members, greece being one of them. it is not for the ecb to decide which country can be a member of the euro area. the ecb has acted and will continue to act on that basis. is it completely off the table though? as far as the ecb is concerned, it was never on the table. i think we have demonstrated that consistently in the past, no matter what others have said or were said to have been saying. is debt relief important for greece and, if so, when should it come? well, i believe that two elements will be important in the coming months. the first is the one that i have just mentioned : strong ownership of the programme and determination in its implementation. the second one is debt sustainability. we have expressed concerns about current debt sustainability. in our view, there will have to be an element of debt relief. however, debt relief would not be credible if it is not accompanied by the first element. it is crucial that the government, as well as the people, identify with the objectives of the programme, which are to bring back growth, fiscal and financial stability and social fairness to the greek economy. for the government to present itself as being forced to do something by external powers would be self - defeating, as the people of greece who are supposed to make some of the short - term sacrifices will then ask their government “ why? ” ‒ “ why should we do this, if you yourself are not convinced? ” incidentally, this has been a long - standing challenge regarding programmes that have been designed and negotiated with international institutions. so, i would like to reiterate that ownership is important

review. greek banks currently seem to be operating like “ zombies ”. do you think this will change after the recapitalisation? the key aim of the recapitalisation is to enable these banks to function normally and to be in a position to support the economic recovery in greece by providing credit and other financial services. robust capital and liquidity positions are necessary conditions for achieving this objective, which is why the process of bank recapitalisation and its smooth implementation are so important. given that the upcoming recapitalisation will involve significant amounts of public money, it is critical that banks are controlled by highly professional boards complying with state - of - the - art governance standards. this will also ensure that the state funds used for recapitalising banks can be recouped via privatisation. having said this, further measures are needed for banks to remain sustainable in the longer term. in particular, banks will have to intensify their efforts to resolve the high levels of bad or so - called non - performing loans and the relevant authorities will need to remove the remaining obstacles hampering progress in this area. naturally, some other conditions are also important, for example, the lifting of capital controls and the country ’ s renewed access to international financial markets. we are talking about a series of positive steps, including structural reforms, which are required for greece to resume a path of sustainable growth and higher employment. is a bail - in of depositors completely off the table? the ecb insisted that a bail - in of depositors should be excluded, as it deemed any such measure to be counterproductive for the economic recovery and harmful for the greek economy. it would have had a very negative impact on the private sector. the eurogroup accepted our viewpoint. it is essential that the greek authorities move ahead swiftly with the implementation of the agreed financial sector measures so that the recapitalisation exercise can still be finalised this year. its completion will be an important step in the effort to restore depositor and market confidence in greek banks. the prime minister, and also some ministers, have talked of trying to renegotiate part of the programme. is there any scope for this or is this a move that could backfire? the memorandum, which was supported by the greek parliament, was agreed with the authorities in august. i believe it is in the interest of everyone that the focus should now be on quickly implementing the measures that were jointly agreed, in line with the