Athens (AFP) – The Greek government, which seeks to minimize the threat of financial strangulation hanging over the country, hoping to find some oxygen these days with its European partners, starting with the most intransigent, Germany.
Despite the verbal escalation of the last days between the two countries, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called Monday morning the phone by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has accepted a invitation to visit Berlin on Monday for the first time since taking office in January.
“The situation is serious, the priority is to continue this week to work on the Eurogroup commitments February 20, “said Monday in Brussels Margaritis Schinas, spokesman of the European Commission.
The statements have succeeded in recent days about the financial emergency confronting Greece, then the budgetary statistics released Friday confirmed a lower tax revenues.
Sunday, however, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras assured that “there is absolutely no liquidity problem,” or so “insignificant,” the Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, interviewed Sunday night in the German TV ARD.
Monday, Athens was able to honor the repayment of a tranche of € 588 million to the IMF. He will have to pay about another 340 million on Friday.
Alexis Tsipras put on a solution “to the political level by the end of the week”, marked Thursday and Friday by a European summit of Heads of State and EU government.
But, noted the spokesman of the European Commission, “technical discussions are ongoing, including in Athens (…) Before moving to level summit, we must let the experts work. The priority now is to move forward on this path. “
Athens hopes to get some oxygen from its creditors, who are waiting for further reforms are clearly launched in Greece before disbursing 7.2 billion of loans remaining to be paid to the country from Europe. Greece hopes in particular that the ECB quickly pays 1.9 billion euros corresponding to interest on Greek bonds, and authorizes it to issue more treasury bonds
-. “Respect the dignity Greek “-
The partners show shared
The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy assured.” not wanting that Greece exits the euro. ” But he also hoped that it “respects its compromise as we all do.”
In India, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said how much she “sympathizes strongly with the Greek people” while calling “strongly” structural reforms of the economy, “because we can not live constantly on credit.”
The senior EU leaders were warmest. Mr. Tsipras would not have denied the words of the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who said “we are facing a humanitarian crisis in Greece” and that we must “respect the Greek dignity.” While complying with the view “of the 18 other democracies” of the euro area, so that “the integrity of the euro area will be preserved.”
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk considered for his part that the Greek problem “is not just about numbers. It also geopolitics. You can imagine the EU without Greece?” he asked, comparing the area euro at a “family” and calling it “stupid scenario” assuming a Greek exit.
However, he invited the Greeks to stop making them the most intransigent creditor, the Germany, their “target” privileged. Berlin is accused of aggravated daily social situation in Greece by its desire to impose harsh reforms in exchange for aid to the country, while refusing to pay war reparations Athens estimates due to the abuses of Nazis.
The visit of Mr. Tsipras in Berlin could ease things. Interview with Mr. Varoufakis ARD on Sunday was compounded: Minister, apparently taken aback, called a “fixing” a video showing the yet known in 2013, when he was an economist, do the finger evoking Germany at a conference. Mr. Varoufakis claimed that the gesture had been “added”, triggering an investigation of the chain reversing its version.
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