Debt Relief For Greece? Germany Says It's Illegal. The Reality Is Not So Simple

It seems unlikely, but Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Germany's hard-nosed finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble actually agree on something: Greece's debt is unsustainable without significant restructuring. Yet German negotiators have argued that European creditors have their hands tied. Existing treaties effectively prevent countries in the eurozone from directly financing other governments, they say. "Everyone knows that a debt haircut is incompatible with membership in the monetary un...