Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis however said that Greece will back its own proposals.
Advertisement
BRUSSELS-Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was meeting Thursday morning with the heads of the institutions overseeing his country’s bailout, part of an effort to clinch a last-minute deal after talks sputtered amid divisions over pension cuts and other conditions for aid. “Their expectation is to welcome an agreement”, the European Union official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
Euro zone finance ministers are due to convene at 1700 GMT to finalise an agreement for the currency area’s leaders to approve on Thursday, but Stathakis said the two sides still had to bridge differences in some areas.
After the talks late Wednesday night stalled, a Greek official said that the government remains firm on its positions with regards to negotiations, according to Reuters. “I think it’s more impressive than anything else, it’s not frightening or awful but rather, they are doing it well”.
Greece’s government defended Tuesday the billions w…
A default on its debts could eventually force Greece out of the eurozone, which would be hugely painful for the country. But after the talks once again stalled, he lashed out at Greece’s creditors over what he said were fresh demands they had made in addition to a reform plan Athens submitted last week to end the five-month standoff.
Prior to the Eurozone’s finance ministers meeting many leaders entered with a skeptical outlook on what the meeting could produce.
Even if a deal is made, however, the prime minister faces a challenge getting it through the Greek parliament. “It’s a sign of the big distance between Greece and its creditors”. The far-left wing of Syriza is complaining that the new austerity measures that would come with a new bailout package would constitute a betrayal of Syrzia’s anti-austerity campaign pledges.
One proposal is to transfer €27bn ($30bn; £19bn) of debt that Greece owes to the European Central Bank into the ESM, the eurozone’s permanent bailout fund. “So, after the comprehensive Greek proposals, I am confident we will reach a compromise”.
Greece’s banking system has been kept afloat by cash injections from the European Central Bank as wary Greeks withdraw their deposits.
But in counter-proposals handed to Greece on Wednesday, creditors are calling for further measures on retirement, value-added tax for restaurants, and for defense expenditure to be slashed by 400 million euros instead of the proposed 200 million euros.
Advertisement
The official said the lenders also ignored much of the Greeks’ latest offer, which had included a tax increase for high income earners, changes to Greece’s sales tax, and – critically – a departure from what the Greek government considered non-negotiable items, such as pensions. “The responsibility of each party involved will now be determined”, the official said.
