Euro-Finance: Brussels crisis meeting ends without result – N24

The euro zone finance ministers have postponed their crisis meeting on Greece. The talks ended after one hour. Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was skeptical before the start.

After less than an hour have their special meeting on the debt crisis not yield any results, the euro zone finance ministers. The session will resume on Thursday by 13 clock, said the euro group chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Athens negotiations with the creditor institutions on required austerity measures had brought no breakthrough in advance and were overshadowed by recriminations.

“We have not yet come to an agreement”, Dijsselbloem said. “But we are determined to continue working to do what is necessary.” Greece desperately needs new funding to repay on June 30 around 1.5 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can. On this day, the European support program for Greece runs out. The country threatens without agreement of bankruptcy and ultimately the exit from the euro area

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:. Therefore Athens not take its gold treasure of

Even before the launch of the euro group meeting, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) had little shown optimistic that there could be an agreement on this matter on Wednesday. “My feeling is, we are not much further than on Monday”, as the euro zone finance ministers came together for the last time.

Athens had presented new proposals for required reforms earlier this week, want to creditors But even in a number of areas changes. These ran the whole Wednesday on negotiations between the Greek government and the institutions of the funders. Greek Prime Minister Tsipras led the afternoon personally talking with Dijsselbloem and the peaks of the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB), the IMF and the euro bailout fund.

Shortly before his departure for Brussels said Tsipras overlooking the IMF that “certain institutions” Athens austerity proposals “do not accept”, as was reported from the Greek government. “This strange attitude perhaps conceals two things. Either they want any agreement or they serve certain interests in Greece”

IMF chief Christine Lagarde was in the negotiations “very hard”, it was said from the Greek delegation in Brussels. The counter-proposals of the donors were a “nasty surprise”. So the creditors wanted neither higher employer contributions nor a tax on corporate profits or online gambling. The question of debt sustainability will indeed addressed, but the creditors want to talk only after completion of the current aid program it.

Greece there continue to believe “that there is a debt restructuring comes,” said the Austrian Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling. Many Member States feared by “a third (auxiliary) program through the back door”.
For late Wednesday evening (23.00 clock) is now a renewed high-level meeting with Tsipras stated, said an EU official to the adjourned meeting of ministers.

By this addition Juncker should also participate Dijsselbloem, in charge of the Euro Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and EU economy commissioner Pierre Moscovici. “We want Greece in the euro zone remains” Moscovici said. But are “solid reforms” necessary. “For this we are tonight and work the next day.”

“This is about saving face,” said an EU official overlooking Tsipras. Because an agreement would have to agree in Greece and the Parliament. Tsipras had promised an end to years of austerity before the election victory of his leftist alliance Syriza and fell in recent weeks also in our own ranks pressured them not to depart.

part has been suggested that Tsipras the wants to use beginning on Thursday EU summit to negotiate at Senior level. The European Central Bank raised for the fifth time in a week the framework for emergency loans to Greek banks. Greek savers currently draw weekly billion euros from their accounts from, out of concern that in the event of bankruptcy capital controls are introduced.