Totally clear to what Greece should do to receive the financial aid appeared today German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s spokesperson Martin Jaeger. As he said, the Greek side has not yet submitted a complete list of proposals to the Eurozone and talks about the reforms continue. The most significant of his statements though, was the one explaining what Germany sees as the main criterion needed in order to unlock liquidity for Athens.
As he underlined, “the Greek Parliament will have to approve the reforms before a further aid is given to Athens,” while he rejected that a date has been agreed for a Eurogroup discussion on Greece’s progress.
On her behalf, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while on a visit to Helsinki, underlined that there is flexibility as to which reforms the Greek government will opt to implement, however there must be several additions to the overall framework. “We saw the same thing in Ireland when a new government changed segments of the program. But in the end, the financial stability of the country must be restored. Greece is currently talking with the institutions and we are waiting to see the result of these talks,” the German chancellor said, concluding that the question is whether Greece will fulfill the expectations we all have.
Bild: The Greeks scoff at the Europeans, they sent the reforms list in Greek
The opportunity for yet another snide comment on Greece found German tabloid Bild. As it reported, “the Greeks laugh at the Europeans on the reforms. They presented the reforms via a tablet and written in Greek. Athens is one step away from bankruptcy and is trying to buy time,” highlighted Germany’s largest circulation newspaper, adding that “from early April, Greece will be unable to repay its debt. Only the help of the European Central Bank (ECB), which has not come yet, could prevent it from bankruptcy. The government of Alexis Tsipras is still playing poker and so far has not submitted any utilitarian reforms list, which will further provide it with the financial assistance.”
The newspaper cited an unnamed European diplomat, who said that the Greek government’s list is “vague and unreliable.” On his behalf, Greek Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas, in an interview to Greek television denied Bild’s report on the subject.
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