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This article was published June 22, 2015 at 07:10.
The last change is the 22 June 2015 at 14:33.
BRUSSELS – You just started the round of summits and meetings here in Brussels in an effort to find an agreement between Greece and its creditors on the assumption of further aid to the Mediterranean country. Athens has come up with new proposals aiming to wrest a compromise. The latest statements, an agreement appears unlikely in the coming hours, despite a meeting of finance ministers of the euro area and then a summit at the level of heads of state and government of the monetary union.
Speaking in Brussels this morning, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Progress has been made in the past two days, but we have not yet (…) I can not say whether an agreement is possible today.” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is looking for a difficult compromise that puts both the creditors agree, is his party. Syriza is divided. Many in the movement of the radical left are against a compromise that requires some form of new austerity.
“It will be impossible to make a full assessment today,” he added the president of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem top of the ministerial meeting. Sharper on the substance of the proposed German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble: “We have not received any substantial proposal by Greece (…) It is difficult to think that we seriously prepare the summit of the leaders.” His Irish counterpart Michael Noonan said he expected a new Eurogroup Thursday.
During a council of ministers yesterday morning, the greek government has come up with new proposals to credit institutions (the Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund). The aim is to conclude the current memorandum expiring at the end of the month and rip new aid to 7.2 billion euro in a few days from a refund of 1.6 billion euro to the Fund. The setting is dramatic, marked by a flight of bank deposits.
While the partners expressed caution, Athens believes that the proposals will lead to “a final solution” of the issue, said the same Tsipras before meeting this morning Juncker. So far, the government has refused to put his hand significantly to three areas identified by creditors: the pension system, labor law and taxation. According to the latest information, Greece would now ready for new savings equal to 0.4% of GDP in 2015 and 1.0% of GDP in 2016.
In words, the euro zone countries appear inflexible. They want respect for the agreements to grant new aid. They know, however, that at the end of the month a greek failure to repay the IMF is likely to result in a dramatic chain of events lead up to the exit of Greece from the euro zone. The impact of monetary union would be economic, but also political. Greece would slide into chaos, damaging the same image of Europe.
In this sense, the government greek know that lenders have every incentive to successfully close the negotiations. Throughout the weekend, the European Commission has been working informally for a solution. This does not mean that an agreement has already been written. The risk of a hiccup remains, also because there is resentment in many European countries, if not anger, towards Greece and its negotiating tactics. The country is caught between rescue and failure.
“Rationally are optimistic about an agreement – explained Saturday a European head, before the announcement of the arrival of new proposals Greek – but I can not get a dose of pessimism . Nell’establishment greek there is a vein imponderable. ”
Among the Eurogroup meeting, which began at 12.30, and the euro area summit, set for 19, there will be a meeting between Tsipras and the presidents of the main institutions involved in the negotiations.
In fact, the aim of these days is to find an agreement to extend the memorandum expiring at the end of June, the only way – given the tight deadlines – to continue to negotiate with Greece and grant if new loans. Today was held also a meeting of the Governing Council of the ECB, which has decided to increase for the third time in six days the loans to the banking sector greek, victim of a flight of deposits that last week amounted to 4 to 5 billion euro. Unsure the amount of the increase.
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