Probe ordered into controversial Greek ‘euro exit’ report in foreign magazine

The Athens prosecutors’ office on Sunday ordered an urgent preliminary investigation over a controversial report appearing last week on the internet page of the German magazine Der Spiegel on a prospective exit from the euro currency by Greece, which sparked a flurry of denials by Greek and EU officials.
In a report on a meeting last Friday afternoon chaired by eurozone president Jean-Claude Juncker, the magazine alleged that Greece was considering the prospect of leaving the euro currency, listing a series of “difficulties” in such an eventuality and noting that no procedure exists from a member states’ exit from the eurozone.

The chief prosecutor has called for an investigation into whether the crime of spreading false news has been committed with the purpose of causing panic among the public and loss of confidence in the common currency.