Brussels, 06/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - On 9 March, the institutions (ECB, IMF and European Commission) and the Greek authorities will inform Eurogroup of progress towards resumption of talks to conclude the final monitoring mission.
A high-ranking EU official confirmed that Greece provided a more detailed list of measures to be taken rapidly in a letter received after the meeting to prepare for Eurogroup. This list has not yet been discussed by the three institutions, but will serve as a basis for ministerial talks on Monday. The Greek finance minister is expected to take advantage of the meeting to brief ministers on the measures.
“Pace needs to pick up, contact between Greek authorities and the institutions needs to be broadened and deepened,” said the high official, explaining that when it comes to financing for Greece, the only thing Eurogroup knew with certainty was the future repayment deadlines. At this stage, no dates has been set for resumption of the mission in Athens, and it is not clear whether the institutions will be welcome in Athens.
Initially, the mission of Greece's lenders needs to reach broad agreement at staff level, followed by a list of prior actions to be implemented before any European aid can be disbursed. In theory, said the high official, it is possible for the prior actions to be split into different timelines (and different disbursements) “but we're a long way away from this.”
In Berlin, finance ministry spokesman Martin Jäger said: “If the Greek programme is in a position to work out its list of reforms in detail earlier than the end of April and the troika agrees to it and if this programme is, accordingly, implemented earlier, it would of course be possible to make a payment earlier.”
The letter sent to the head of Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijssebloem, this week includes measures to tackle the 'humanitarian crisis' that is raging in Greece, red tape, improving the business environment by rationalising the service sector, a law on late payment of tax, updating the online betting and lottery legislation and creating a temporary body to target large-scale tax evasion. The high official said that the measures should not be seen as separate from the Greek bailout, but rather as part of the overall arrangement and therefore not connected with any aid disbursement.
Despite concerns about the repayment deadlines for IMF loans (€1.5 billion in March), Greece made an initial payment of €310 million on Friday.
On Thursday, the ECB did not raise the cap on purchases of treasury bonds by Greek banks, which Greece wanted in order to cover its financing needs. In an interview with Der Spiegel, the Greek prime minister, AlexisTsipras, warned that if the ECB objects, “then it will be back to the thriller we saw before 20 February, adding: “The ECB has still got a rope round our neck.”
The Greek government denied reports in the Süddeutsche Zeitung that it had been requesting an emergency meeting with the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to discuss Greece's financial problems. The Greek government said it had asked for a meeting with Juncker after the Eurogroup meeting on 9 March.
Commenting on the rumours about a third bailout, the high-ranking official said that media reports suggested the Greeks were not interested in this and “if no demand, then no supply.” A diplomat said that the “choreography” of the Greek tragedy seemed to be heading towards a third bailout programme, although it isn't being discussed at the moment. “The whole idea is to keep the ship afloat,”added the diplomat.
Cyprus. Eurogroup will be briefed on development in application of foreclosures in Cyprus. “It's becoming a significant problem,” commented the high official. (Élodie Lamer)