EU and Dragons hard with Greece, “Varoufakis amateur” – ANSA.it

RIGA – Patience Eurogroup is over, along with the credibility of the finance minister Yanis Varoufakis: “time is running out”, warned ECB President Mario Draghi and Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem, while ministers give up their usual ‘aplomb’ and attack the greek “amateur wasters” and for having them excused yet another ‘lesson’ on the Greek economy. The frustration eurozone reached dangerous levels, the new invitation to speed sounds like an ultimatum and also number one on the ECB goes to threats: Frankfurt could review the emergency liquidity to Greek banks, only tool that keeps afloat the country.

“We need a global agreement on the list of reforms before any disborso tranche of aid” with the Greeks “were made progress but there are still wide differences”, “everyone knows that the Time is running out, the responsibility is in the hands of the Greeks, an agreement is in their interest, “sums Dijsselbloem after informal Eurogroup. The message that the Eurozone sending Greece is unequivocal: “There is no alternative to a comprehensive agreement,” added Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici, closing the door himself to the request made by Tsipras Merkel agreement bridge breakouts part of aid in exchange for part of the reforms. “It ‘legally and politically impossible to give money to Greece before they complete the program,” admits a source.

The mood of Ministers is leaden, no longer trust their partner who tried again to explain through its political and economic theories, what they see as simply a stalemate in negotiations technical difficulties caused by the continuous Greek. Before the refusal of the Troika, then the prohibition of the Brussels Group to meet in Athens, then the negotiators Greeks without a full mandate on questions concerning the budget. All obstacles that have slowed down a path that would have ended in late April, with an agreement and the release of aid. But there are still “obstacles very, very big,” says Dijsselbloem.

So much so that, to speed up the negotiations, some ministers demanding the return of the former Troika in Athens. And most likely a part of the Brussels Group will return to work in the Greek capital, provided that Tsipras can hardly oppose. There is no more time to do all the conditions of the greek government and the Eurogroup, to be sure that the message is properly delivered to the ears of the prime minister, not entrusted to his minister but directly calls Tsipras. Another sign of impatience and distrust of Varoufakis, who does not hide Dijsselbloem: “It ‘was a very critical discussion, we made an agreement two months ago, now believed to be able to make a decision, but instead we are very far and so yes, it was a very critical debate “, responding to those who ask if the rumors are true of the attacks.

The greek does not enter into personal dispute but explains why there is still no agreement: the Government does not want the cuts to pensions because they do not believe that stabilize the system, still want the moratorium on the confiscation of the first house to not create new homeless in poor areas and not to precipitate the prices in the housing market, and takes a primary surplus lower what the EU asks. But he is aware that “there is no alternative” to an agreement and that the next date to achieve it is the Eurogroup on 11 May, which will report in Athens with some concessions if he will not see fade aid and meet having to pay alone, the next day, more than 700 million to the IMF.