The European Commission and the European Central Bank have said that they are working on drawing up contingency plans should Greece leave the eurozone following next months elections. The comments made by EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht in a newspaper interview are being seen as the first official acknowledgement of the existence of emergency plans should Greece exit the euro.

Elections are due to be held again in Greece on June 17th following the failure to form a coalition government. It is seen as likely by most political pundits that the anti-bailout party Syriza will sweep the polls thus increasing the likelihood of Greece exiting the common currency.