Greece told no more loans until accord on reform plan
Print Edition
EUROZONE finance ministers delivered a stark warning to Greece yesterday that its leftist government will get no more aid until it agrees to a complete economic reform plan, as Athens lurches closer to bankruptcy.
After a tough morning of talks with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, the chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, slammed the door on a request for early cash in return for partial reforms.
He also said a remaining 7.2 billion euros (US$7.8 billion) in frozen bailout funds would no longer be available after June, and Greece’s creditors would not talk about longer term funding and debt relief until Athens concluded a full interim agreement.
“A comprehensive and detailed list of reforms is needed,” Dijsselbloem told a news conference following a meeting in Riga. “A comprehensive deal is necessary before any disbursement can take place ... We are all aware that time is running out.”
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels on Thursday that he hoped for an agreement by the end of this month.
But Dijsselbloem said finance ministers would review progress again only on May 11 — a day before Greece has to make a crucial and uncertain 750-million-euro payment to the International Monetary Fund.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB would go on allowing emergency loans to Greek banks as long as they were assessed as solvent. But he cautioned soaring Greek government bond yields were diminishing the value of the collateral that the banks present to get funds.
Facing a wave of deposit outflows, the banks are staying afloat with 75.4 billion euros in emergency liquidity aid from the Greek central bank. But criticism of the lifeline is growing inside the ECB, central bank sources say, and it would be in doubt if Greece missed a payment to its creditors.
European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said despite some progress in recent days, international creditors were still nowhere near an agreement with Athens.
“Our message today is very clear: We need to accelerate, we need to accelerate from today ... there is no other choice if we want to reach the goal that everyone shares, which is a stable, prosperous Greece anchored in the eurozone,” Moscovici said.
Varoufakis sought to play down the differences, saying ministers had agreed to speed up the negotiations, which have also been delayed by Greece’s insistence that EU/ECB/IMF teams avoid lengthy stays in Athens for fear of intensifying the popular backlash against the hated “troika.”
“We agreed that an agreement will be difficult but it will happen and it will happen quickly because that is the only option we have,” he told a separate news conference.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
