USA: Europe will provide financial help but only for something in return - Schaeuble

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that Europe has "good reason" not to offer countries "financial assistance without demanding something in return," adding that help would not be provided if the evidence pointed to the country not being willing to use it to "help itself," while speaking at The Brookings Institute in Washington, Thursday. It is unclear as to whether this comment was directed at Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who is due to speak at the event later on Thursday. Schaeuble highlighted the fact that absolute debt in Europe "is higher than before the crisis" and that the debt to GDP ratio is "higher than ever," causing a level of concern. However, he went on to postulate that Europe "will be able to cope effectively with today's crisis" but only if the member states maintain "strong economies." He cited Spain, Ireland and Portugal as positive examples of countries that have made it out of the lowest ebb of the current crisis, pointing to the fact that they are now "growing faster than other countries" as a result of the successful completion of their "assistance programmes" and "implemented real reforms."