Contradictory reactions from the international community on letter sent from Athens to Brussels. Today the government led by Alexis Tsipras officially presented the request for a six-monthly extension of the aid program to Greece and tomorrow the finance ministers of the euro zone will meet to discuss the issue.
The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, considers the Athens communication “a positive signal that can pave the way towards a reasonable compromise in the interest of the stability of the entire euro area. Now it's up to the Eurogroup to answer”.
The first to take a stand were the Germans, who rejected the Greek proposal. "The letter from Athens does not represent a proposal for a solution - said the spokesman of the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, in a short statement –. Athens is actually aiming for a bridging loan without respecting the conditions of the programme. The letter does not respect the criteria defined in the Eurogroup meeting on Monday”.
The document proposes to "jointly proceed towards a positive conclusion of the current agreements". Athens undertakes to maintain "budgetary balance" in the six-month extension of the financial assistance programme. In the meantime, negotiations will begin to reduce the debt and to launch a long-term program of economic growth. “The government – official Greek sources explain – has not asked for an extension of the bailout plan. We have sent a proposal that respects the popular mandate, which defends our social dignity and which, at the same time, is acceptable to our partners".
Although the text reported by Reuters expressly refers to the agreement with the Troika, the "Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement", the versions accredited by Athens specify that "the government, faithful to its commitments, has not requested an extension of the Memorandum", but only loans, with the aim of "providing a protective 'umbrella' to the financial system". With a possible extension of the loan, the Greek government "undertakes itself to balance the accounts and, at the same time, to tackle the reforms against tax evasion and corruption".
The distances between the creditors and Athens therefore remain, and tomorrow's meeting does not promise to go downhill in order to reach a decisive agreement by February 28 (the day on which the previous memorandum with the Troika will expire). That's why, Eurozone officials explained, tomorrow's meeting will not be via teleconference.
