After a meeting of the Eurogroup (the finance ministers of the euro zone) that has fizzled followed by nocturnal discussions hardly more successful, negotiations with Greece to avoid a default will resume the morning of Thursday, June 25 in Brussels between Prime Minister Greek Alexis Tsipras and his creditors.
The aim of the negotiations with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and ECB President Mario Draghi is to achieve a preliminary agreement Thursday to present to finance ministers will meet again in mid-day. “We work for it,” , ensured a source close to the talks told AFP, five days before the deadline for repayment to the IMF that feeds the fears of payment default of Greece.
Finding of no agreement
Mr. Tsipras and creditors of Greece had already met for hours Wednesday afternoon to try to reach a draft agreement before a first meeting of the Eurogroup in the evening. But they have failed to overcome their differences and ministers could only note the absence of agreement. The Eurogroup has been adjourned after one hour. “We have not seen any concrete proposal” , said Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb.
“We have not yet reached an agreement but we are determined to continue working to do what is necessary “, assured the head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem, announcing that the meeting at the level of the euro area would resume Thursday at 13 hours ( Paris time), hours before a European summit scheduled long. Athens and its creditors will meet before that, at 9 am, to continue working on the outlines of an agreement.
One of the sticking points is that Greece “ insists on a transfer of part of its debt “ held by the ECB to the eurozone support fund, the ESM, at rates and better terms for it, said Austrian Finance Minister Hans-Jörg Schelling. “For many countries, it is a third program (assistance) disguised” , he emphasized
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The question of debt sustainability must be “addressed” in the ongoing discussions, which cover the immediate financial survival of Greece , said the French minister Michel Sapin, even if it is not the folder “most urgent” . But overall, Europeans are very cautious on the subject and refuse to a solution that would mean for them to financial losses.
Tsipras attacks the IMF
The negotiations are difficult because of the position of the IMF, in Athens, accusing Washington of intransigence institution “criminal” . Mr. Tsipras is in is also made clear in the IMF Wednesday deploring “the insistence of some institutions (creditors) who do not accept compensatory measures” from Greece to obtain financial assistance necessary for its survival
Read also:. Greece: Tsipras attacks the IMF, which is open to a debt relief
In order to obtain the aid, Greece has presented earlier this week new proposals, especially based on a tax increase and taxes, which provide eight billion euros of additional fiscal efforts to be made 2015 and 2016. But they are not suitable to creditors who formulated new requirements which have been leaked to the press.
In terms of pensions, creditors are demanding the removal of early retirement and want the legal age of retirement goes from 62 to 67 years since 2022, not in 2025. They insist that the VAT rate of 23% applies to restaurants and not a reduced rate of 13% as asks the Greek government.
They ask for cuts in defense spending of € 400 million in Budget 2016, and not 200 million. And they refuse several tax measures for businesses, such as a tax on exceptional companies 12% on profits above EUR 500 million in 2015. Athens announced in the afternoon that he rejected these new demands.
Read also: Greece: Alexis Tsipras plays his all
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