'I do not believe that it would be the end of a credible euro.’

Ahead of an emergency summit on Monday, former prime minister of Italy Mario Monti said that ‘it would be a tragedy' were Greece to leave the euro but that he 'did not believe that it would be the end of a credible euro'.

On the likelihood of Greece leaving the euro, Mr. Monti said that the force of public opinion could not be overlooked by the Greek government. Meanwhile, he said, the remainder of the eurozone was in a better position to withstand a Greek exit: ‘Relative to three years ago … the eurozone has acquired much more resilience vis-à-vis the departure of a country’.

‘I would prefer it were Greece to stay, but unfortunately there are limits unless one wants to pollute the whole climate of the eurozone and encourage others to behave improperly’.