The spokesman for Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup council of euro-zone finance ministers, says he was told to deny the existence of a secret meeting Friday that was in fact about to take place.
The lie came as markets remained on edge about how Greece will cope with its crippling debt level and weak economic prospects.
Here's what happened: Just before 6 p.m. local time Friday, German news magazine Spiegel Online distributed a report saying that euro-zone finance ministers were convening a secret, emergency meeting in Luxembourg that evening to discuss a Greek demand to quit the euro zone.
Following the report, calls from reporters flooded in to Guy Schuller, the spokesman for Mr. Juncker. Mr. Schuller repeatedly told reporters from The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones that no meeting was being held. Reuters and the Associated Press also reported that Mr. Schuller denied that there would be a meeting.
But as it soon became clear, there was a meeting taking place, at which participants discussed Greece. But according to several people familiar with the meeting, ministers didn't discuss Greece quitting the euro, which would be an extreme step.
So why the lie about whether there was a meeting at all? "I was told to say there was no meeting," said Mr. Schuller, reached by telephone Monday. "We had certain necessities to consider."
Evening in Europe is midday in the U.S. "We had Wall Street open at that point in time," Mr. Schuller said. The euro was falling on the Spiegel Online report. "There was a very good reason to deny that the meeting was taking place." It was, he said, "self-preservation."
Mr. Juncker, who has been prime minister of Luxembourg since 1995, has been president of the Eurogroup since 2005. In that position, he bears primary responsibility for communicating the euro zone's financial and economic posture.
Write to Charles Forelle at charles.forelle@wsj.com
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