No reforms, no money, senior German lawmaker warns Athens
A senior German lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party on Wednesday warned the Greek government not to backtrack on its reform commitments.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has tried to rally his SYRIZA party before parliament votes on Wednesday on the second package of reforms demanded by Greece's international creditors to open talks on a new bailout deal.
The bill will adopt into Greek law new European Union rules on propping up failed banks, but it does not include pension reforms curbing early retirement or raising taxes paid by farmers. Those will be dealt with in coming weeks under a full bailout deal with European partners.
"We are keeping a close eye on whether Athens not only adopts the reforms, but also implements them," Gunther Krichbaum, chairman of the German parliament's Europe committee, told the newspaper Bild.
"Greece must fulfill the conditions, otherwise the money cannot flow."
Alexander Lambsdorff, a German liberal in the European Parliament, told the paper: "There can't be an aid program if the Greek government moves away from its commitments. Then the EU would have to cancel the talks immediately."
Officials from the creditor institutions – the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – are due in Athens on Friday for meetings with the government, Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas said. [Reuters]
