"The aim is still to reach an agreement and to keep Greece in the euro zone," Dijsselbloem added. However, he emphasized that a possible agreement should be tested before the end of this month.
On June 30, the extension of Greece's second bailout expires. On the same day, Athens needs to repay some 1.5 billion euros (1.69 billion US dollars) of loan installments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Without an agreement over a debt deal, Greece cannot cover its financial obligations, government and lenders acknowledge.
The Greek government is negotiating for months with the lenders (the euro zone, the European Central Bank and the IMF), but so far without results. Dijsselbloem called the negotiations between the Greek authorities and the lenders "pretty derailed." Statements by the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who called the terms of the lenders "absurd," were according to Dijsselbloem "inaccurate and unfair."
"We offered Tsipras to come up with alternatives, but so far they never came," Dijsselbloem said in the Dutch parliament. Since these Greek proposals have not arrived yet, it is unlikely that the euro zone finance ministers can take decisions on Thursday during their meeting in Luxemburg.
Also on Wednesday, Dijsselbloem proposed to delay the elections for head of the Eurogroup, which had been expected on Thursday, until July.
Dijsselbloem will see his two-and-a-half year term as Eurogroup President end in July. He aims for a second term, but has a strong rival in Spanish Finance Minister Luis De Guindos.
Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
18/6/15
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Related:
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Greece has a "political and moral duty" to reach an agreement with creditors over its debt crisis, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said...
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Greece urged to reach agreement with lenders or face 'painful exit'...
ReplyDeleteEurozone finance ministers will gather in Luxembourg later today amid deepening alarm over a possible Greek exit from the euro.
Following weeks of recrimination between Greece and its international lenders, both sides are no closer to an agreement that would see Athens receive over €7bn in rescue funds that would allow it to stave off a debt default this month.
The United States has been issuing increasingly pessimistic warnings about a Greek default.
The Bank of Greece yesterday took the unusual step of calling on the Greek government to reach agreement with its lenders or face what it called a painful exit from the euro.
Greece has less than two weeks to reach agreement with its creditors or else it will default on a €1.6bn debt with the International Monetary Fund and face an exit from the single currency.
The Bank of Greece described an agreement between Athens and the EU and IMF as a historical imperative.
It also issued an unprecedented warning that a default would probably lead to Greece not just leaving the single currency, but also the European Union.....rte.ie
18/6/15
EZB kann Griechenland nicht mehr retten...
ReplyDeleteShowdown in der Griechenland-Krise: Am heutigen Donnerstag kommen die Euro-Finanzminister zu ihrer letzten - planmäßigen - Sitzung vor dem Ende des aktuellen Hilfsprogramms für Griechenland zusammen. Doch mit einer Einigung wird nicht gerechnet, der Ball dürfte also letztlich bei den Staats- und Regierungschefs landen.
Finden auch die keinen Ausweg, dann wird es eng für Athen. Denn die Europäische Zentralbank (EZB) kann Griechenland im Falle eines Scheiterns der Schuldengespräche laut dem deutschen Bundesbankpräsident Jens Weidmann nicht über Wasser halten: Es sei nicht die Aufgabe der EZB, Staaten zu finanzieren, sagte Weidmann der italienischen Zeitung „La Stampa“. Dies sei verboten.
Es sei Sache von Regierungen und Parlamenten, über eine Finanzierung Griechenlands zu entscheiden. Ob das Land in der Euro-Zone bleibe, liege ganz allein in der Verantwortung der Regierung in Athen. Sollte Griechenland eine Kreditrückzahlung nicht leisten können, wären die Folgen schwer kontrollierbar.
Faymann fordert Solidarität mit Athen
Österreichs Kanzler Werner Faymann hatte am Mittwoch in Athen Solidarität mit Griechenland eingefordert. Dies schulde man dem Land. Von einem Ultimatum und Vorbereitungen in anderen EU-Hauptstädten, in denen bereits offen über den Grexit, den Austritt Griechenlands aus der Eurozone, debattiert wird, distanzierte er sich........diepresse.com
18/6/15