Alexis Tsipras and his left oriented government had a much fulfilled day yesterday. In a joggling game to make peace with both the International Monetary Fund and their own people, promises were made that concessions for the creditors will be made, but using an anti-austerity tone. The euro zone partners are scheduled to have a leader’s summit next week, and it is believed to be one of Greece’s last chances to get the financial injection in order to escape the worst.
Monday’s summit is perhaps last resort for Greece’s banks also. In the last few days, billions of euros are being withdrawn by the Greek people. Business and private accounts are being emptied on an hourly basses. That is the main reason for the government to impose controls in the banks, in order to prevent further withdrawal. Until now, the banks in Greece made it solely on the help from the European Central Bank.
7.2 billion euros help is what official Athens dreams for these days. That is the amount that they will get if an agreement is signed. But for now, most of the views between Brussels and Athens are different, mainly in the pensions section and in the taxes section. Now, after months of everyday negotiations that bared no fruit, the euro zone leaders are exhausted. Patience is no longer there, and is becoming even thinner with each passing day.
Greece’s Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis promised that his country will do its best in the next days in order for a deal to be made. “The next meeting in Brussels is the one we are concentrated on. We will agree to anything, as long as it’s not something the previous government agreed to. By that, I mean, we will not agree to a new loan that would get us out of trouble today, but get us in even bigger trouble in a couple of months. The previous arrangement was like that. We got the money, but we were left without a way to pay it back. The ball is, in a way, in the hands of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. She faced a stark choice, whether to accept an agreement” – Varoufakis stated.
EU official said that there was information that the Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras was to make a phone call to the chief of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker In order to strike some improvement in the negotiations before the summit. A meeting between Tsipras and Greece’s negotiation team is scheduled for tommorow, to determine their negotiation grounds.
According to the Brussels officials, there is slim to none chance for a deal to be made on Monday, but that a political understanding would be a big step forward in concluding a final agreement by the end of the month.
Ewald Nowotny, governor of the Austrian Central Bank, and an important member of the ECB governing council expressed his concern. In an interview he gave for the daily Der Kurier. “If a default is proclaimed by Greece, it would just be another name for technical bankrupt. The only solution for them if this happens, is to exit the euro and bring back the drachma. All In all, it would be a complete chaos in economic and political terms.”
