Greek bailout talks to continue, debt relief to be discussed after program implemented
There was no final agreement between Greece and its lenders on Monday, with eurozone finance ministers viewing the latest proposal by Athens as “positive” but saying that more technical work is needed.
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem welcomed an updated set of proposals from the Greek government aimed at unblocking the deadlock before the country’s bailout program ends on June 30.
The Greek proposals were a “welcome step” noted Dijsselbloem at a press conference following the relatively brief meeting. He said work would continue on a technical level with the aim of a deal being reached later this week.
Also at the press conference, EU Finance Commissioner Pierre Moscovici stated that the Greek proposals were a “a solid base” but that more work was needed.
Both Djisselbloem and Moscovici noted that the proposals were submitted too late in order for a full assessment to be made by the institutions ahead of Monday’s Eurogroup meeting. A euro area leaders’ summit due to take place on Monday evening would go ahead regardless of eurozone finance ministers not being in a position to reach an agreement.
Meanwhile, Greek debt relief measures could be discussed only after the full program is implemented, senior European officials told Kathimerini’s Brussels correspondent Eleni Varvitsiotis. They said this is what was on offer to the previous government from November 2012 and continues to be the case to today.
