Greece and its creditors are not in agreement – L’Express

A gap of two billion euros. The discussions were held in Brussels since Saturday between Greece and its creditors ended on Sunday without agreement because of “significant differences” remain between the two sides, said a spokesman for the Commission, “although progress has been made. ”

“The Greek proposals remain incomplete,” stressed the source, claiming that the President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, “is convinced that” a solution “can be found by the end of the month “, the date when Greece faces an important deadline for repayment to the IMF that it might not be able to honor.

“Hands in pockets”

Jean-Claude Juncker “made a last attempt this weekend to find, through his close associates and closely with experts from the Commission, the ECB and the IMF, a solution with the Prime Minister “Greek Alexis Tsipras.

The Greeks came negotiate “hands in pockets” with “very low commitments,” lamented the source close to the negotiations. “There is a huge gap between the expectations of creditor institutions and what they offer.” In turn, a Greek government source said on Sunday evening to AFP that creditors claims were “irrational” and has blamed the IMF, a position charged with “uncompromising and tough.”

Next meeting Thursday

For the Commission, the Greeks must achieve “up to two billion euros’ additional annual budgetary effort to obtain financial help they desperately need. Just before the talks will stumble, a Greek government source assured that Athens “will not accept lower wages or pensions,” or increase in VAT on commodities like electricity. The next meeting of this coterie is scheduled for Thursday in Luxembourg.

Greece is more than ever under threat of default, which could be an explosion with unpredictable consequences for the whole euro area. Athens must indeed pay on June 30 of € 1.6 billion of IMF loans, and high risk of not being able to honor this deadline without the release of 7.2 billion euros, suspended since last summer to an agreement with creditors. “They have nothing,” summarized the source close to the negotiations.