Negotiations have already begun between Athens and Brussels for a third aid plan for Greece, the value of which should be between 30 and 50 billion euros. This was confirmed yesterday evening by the Spanish economy minister, Luis de Guindos, on the sidelines of a conference in Pamplona, specifying that Madrid's contribution would be approximately 13%. De Guindos then tried to dampen the recent controversies between Madrid and Lisbon, on one side, and Athens on the other: "Spain's position – he said – has always been one of collaboration, solidarity and flexibility".
Yesterday the European Commission confirmed that it had received a written complaint from Spain and Portugal over the accusations made against their respective governments by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who last Saturday accused Madrid and Lisbon of having created a sort of hostile axis in Athens during the recent negotiations to extend aid, motivated by reasons related to their internal politics.
Il third floor it would add to the extension on which Athens is negotiating, which would make it possible to avoid default between now and the end of June. In July and August, however, Greece must repay the ECB maturing bonds for 6,7 billion euros: resources that Athens will not have in hand, barring new interventions.
Simone Boitelle, spokesman for the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen, replied to the Spanish minister's revelation Dijsselbloem, according to which eurozone countries are not discussing the launch of a third bailout plan for Greece. The vice president of the EU Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, instead declared that Athens "might need a third bailout when the current plan expires" in June.
For its part, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will start investing temporarily in Greece, responding positively to the Greek government's request to support economic reforms. EBRD shareholders voted in favor of investing in Greece "until the end of 2020". The goal is to attract and encourage foreign and Greek investments, strengthening the private sector with particular attention to the needs of SMEs.
Meanwhile, the first legislative step of the Tsipras government is a series of measures to combat poverty. The speeches that Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis will announce today aim to demonstrate that the left-wing executive wants to honor the promises made to voters. There are two main measures: housing grants for around 30.000 unemployed people (from 70 to 220 euros per month for families made up of 4 people); 300 kilowatts of free electricity for another 300 people.
