Greece is still locked in negotiations with its EU-IMF creditors over a deal to release bailout funds in order to avoid a debt default.Greece's new government has promised a lot, people won't have to save any more and that they wouldl make everything better and different.
German impatience with Greece has intensifed ever since Syriza party came to power.
The breakdown in trust between the two finance ministers was almost immediate and terminal.
Adding to the hardening of attitudes is the fact that many in the German establishment believe a Greek exit is much more manageable now than in 2012.
Chancellor Merkel is once again the key figure.
In Greece, cabinet ministers speak of a Merkel Moment, an 11th hour deal where she will step in to show flexibility on the cuts and reforms the country's lenders are insisting on.
But with Germany fast running out of money there are plenty of chances for it to default ahead of that summit of EU leaders at the end of June.
Earlier, a Greek junior minister said that a deal was "very close" to a loan deal, a Greek junior minister said this afternoon, a day ahead of a key meeting in Brussels.
Mr Tsakalotos, a junior foreign minister, is one of Greece's main negotiators.
He said Greece and its creditors were "politically apart" on labour and pension issues and that some areas "will remain open until the last minute".
However, European officials have played down the likelihood of a deal actually emerging tomorrow.
Greece has been squeezing funds from the central and local governments to be able to meet its international loan payments, with concerns that within a matter of weeks it could default and face a messy exit from the euro.
But a loan repayment of €750m due on Tuesday to the IMF will be honoured, according to sources in Athens.
A poll in Real News daily on Sunday showed 71.9% of Greeks favoured a compromise to keep the country in the eurozone.
And if the question was put to a referendum, as the government has indicated it may do, 49.2% said they would accept further salary and pension cuts if it meant keeping the euro.
Source: AFP
rte.ie
10/5/15
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Troika rechnet in Griechenland mit dem Worst Case...
ReplyDeleteHeute sollen die Griechen der EU Reformen präsentieren. Morgen müssen sie 750 Millionen Euro zurückzahlen. Doch die Gespräche stocken. Die Troika bereitet sich mit 3 Szenarien auf das Schlimmste vor.
Wenn sich heute die Euro-Gruppe trifft, geht es für Griechenland um viel. Eigentlich soll das Land an diesem Tag ein umfassendes Reformprogramm präsentieren. Es ist die Voraussetzung für weitere Milliardenhilfen durch die Euro-Partner und den Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF). Am Dienstag muss das Land dann 750 Millionen Euro an den IWF zurückzahlen. Groß sind die Erwartungen an die griechischen Vorschläge am Montag indessen nicht mehr.
Bis auf die EU-Kommission verbreitet derzeit kaum einer positive Einschätzungen über den Fortgang der Gespräche mit Griechenland. "Ja, die neuen Unterhändler aus Athen sind menschlich angenehmer als die Truppe um Finanzminister Janis Varoufakis", sagt einer der Unterhändler der "Welt". "Inhaltlich geht es dennoch nicht voran."
Das Klima sei zwar besser geworden, Fortschritte für wichtige Reformen bei Rente, Arbeitsmarkt und Steuern dagegen lassen sich kaum feststellen. "Im Gegenteil", sagt der Unterhändler. "Die Griechen haben gerade erst ein Gesetz mit dem Namen 'Demokratisierung des öffentlichen Dienstes' verabschiedet, das die Wiedereinstellung von 13.000 Staatsbediensteten beschließt." Dies sei klar gegen den Geist der Reformverträge mit der Troika aus IWF, Europäischer Zentralbank (EZB) und EU-Kommission.....welt.de
11/5/15
French finance minister sees no Greek deal with euro zone on Monday...
ReplyDeleteTalks between Greece and its euro zone creditors on Monday must show progress but won't be decisive, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said.
Euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels on Monday with Greece under pressure to reach a cash-for-reforms deal as it faces a 750 million euro payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
The meeting of finance ministers "will be important but not decisive," Sapin told reporters. "Things have progressed but are not ripe enough to allow to conclude."
(Reporting by Ingrid Melander, Writing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise; editing by Brian Love)
- Reuters