EC’s Dombrovskis says Greek talks complicated, still lots of work to do
European Union Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis admitted on Monday that technical negotiations with Greece over its bailout program are “very complicated” and that much ground needs to be covered before the April 24 Eurogroup.
Dombrovskis told Bloomberg TV that “lots of time was wasted on relatively irrelevant topics” at the beginning of negotiations and that not as much progress has been made as the Commission would have liked.
“The technical negotiations are ongoing,” he said. “The next Eurogroup meeting foreseen for April 24 in Riga will be a good occasion to take stock of how the technical negotiations have been going so far.”
The EC officials also added that the window of opportunity for an agreement between Greece and the institutions is narrowing.
“Right now those discussions are gaining speed but on the other hand time is also running out. There is still lots of work to do, lots of ground to cover,” he said.
“Technically speaking there is more time for negotiations but the Greek authorities themselves are emphasising that their cash position is getting more difficult.”
Dombrovskis played down the possibility of Greece leaving the euro, possibly as a result of a so-called “accident.”
“The European Commission is working clearly based on a scenario that Greece is staying within the eurozone,” he said. “But to ensure the successful conclusion of the negotiations it is important all sides stick with their commitments.”
