Dijsselbloem: Other eurozone members wanted Grexit more than Germany

Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday in an interview with the Financial Times that it was not mainly Germany that wanted to see Greece out of the eurozone in 2015.

"In fact it was countries in Central and Southeastern Europe, many of which had smaller per capita wealth than Greece but had lost their patience with Athens," the former head of the Eurogroup stated, adding that those countries preferred to hide behind Germany, but privately wanted to discuss a Greek exit.

The Dutch official on Friday handed over the chair of the Eurogroup to Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno, whose two-and-a-half-year term begins on Saturday.