Eurogroup: EU “Trojan Horses” and cracks in the wall
Friday’s Eurogroup is expected to be a tough day of negotiation and a last chance for a “mutually beneficial” situation
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis’ proposal for a six-month extension of its bailout facility was rejected by Germany that won’t budge from its position concerning austerity regardless of the humanitarian problems caused to Greece. Germany’s position was outlined in Reuters in a text that describes it as a “Trojan horse, intending to get bridge financing and in substance putting an end to the current program.”
The atmosphere at the Eurogroup Working Group in Brussels on Thursday was positive prior to Friday’s Eurogroup meeting where the Greek proposals appeared to have the support of the French and Italian government as well as other European countries. It is possible that the Greek proposal could be favorably viewed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made telephone contact with French President Francois Hollande, who said that he would do everything he could to help Greece. Tsipras also had ‘warm’ telephone conversations with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Juncker last night. He also spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in what was described as a constructive telephone conversation.
Cracks are beginning to show in the German wall, even though Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble continues to be inflexible. EU partners are applying pressure for the negativity to stop, whereas Germany’s Social Democrat Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel appeared to contradict conservative Schauble on Thursday by stating that Greece’s loan extension request is a “starting point for negotiations.”
The Greek side may be looking for cracks in the German wall of negativity against any form of negotiation, however the Greek government has refuted the German’s sides claims that the Greek Finance Ministry’s offering was a “Trojan horse”. Government sources on Thursday described the German finance ministry’s stance as the real “Trojan horse” as it doesn’t allow for a real discussion between partners. “A lot of people have recognized (the Greek government’s proposal) as a mutually beneficial solution,” said the sources.
Greek Government Vice President Yiannis Dragasakis stated his certainty that a “mutually beneficial” agreement will be reached at Friday’s Eurogroup and warned that “otherwise everybody should assume their share of responsibility.” He pointed out that the Greek government is not intimidated by the German stand. he said that the government will do all that is possible to ensure the stability of the banking system.
Source: protothema – Eurogroup: EU “Trojan Horses” and cracks in the wall
