EUROZONE SHOWDOWN: Tsipras issues warning to EU ahead of bailout negotiations
GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned international leaders not to heap new burdens on the country, as eurozone finance ministers prepare for the next round of bailout talks.
Alexis Tsipras says a debt reduction goes without saying
He called on governments to remember that the country has made “many sacrifices in the name of Europe”, ahead of talks on February 20.
European governments are currently in a month-long standoff over the next phase of Greece’s €86 billion (£73 billion) bailout programme.
Greece is awaiting the third instalment of its bailout package
No country has managed bigger steps to improve competitiveness than Greece.
Greek and EU officials are desperately trying to negotiate terms and conditions which Athens must accept in order to secure the next instalment of bailout funds.
The country has so far managed to come to an agreement over reforms to its pension system and banking governance, although disagreements persist over Greece’s intentions to privatise its energy sector.
In a meeting with his Syriza party on Saturday, Tsipras said he expected the next review to go well, although he expressed concerns that pressure from the far-right was stopping lenders making any major decisions ahead of elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.
European governments are currently in a month-long standoff over the next phase of bailout package
In an interview with German radio Deutschlandfunk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker praised Greece for their post bailout progress, saying: “No country has managed bigger steps to improve competitiveness than Greece”.
He went on to say, however, an agreement for the next round of funding - Greece’s third instalment - is on “on shaky ground” as the International Monetary Fund remains undecided over its next step.
The IMF has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the current package unless Greece receives more help managing its debt burden, described by the Fund as “highly unstable”.
Eurozone officials have, in turn, accused the IMF of using overly pessimistic forecasts to paint an unfairly gloomy picture of Greece’s capacity for reform.