Election outcome does not cancel Greek commitments, Juncker says

Recent elections in Greece, won by leftist SYRIZA party, have not changed the fact that the debt-wracked nation must respect its commitments, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said.

“Elections do not change treaties,” Juncker told Spain’s El Pais newspaper. “It is clear that you have have a different approach to the Greek crisis. There may be greater flexibility, but [SYRIZA’s] victory does not entitle you to change everything,” the EU official said.

In the same interview, Juncker said that leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was responsible for making pre-election pledges that he could not possibly keep.

“Tsipras has the merit of having asked the right questions. But he has never given any answers,” Juncker told the paper.