The Minister of Finances Yanis Varoufakis argued that he was prepared to sign the draft which was presented by Pierre Moscovici, in response to the ultimatum given by Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Mr. Varoufakis called his European partners to withdraw the 48-hour ultimatum in order to come to an agreement, stressing that “we do not have the right to play with Europe’s future”.
The draft which Mr. Varoufakis was prepared to sign made explicit references to the humanitarian crisis in Greece and stressed the need to extend the loan agreement for four months (rather than the bailout program, which is the European demand). Mr. Varoufakis further stated that the Greek side was prepared to include terms and conditions.
However, this document was replaced shortly before Monday’s fruitless Eurogroup, which Mr. Varoufakis claims was “worse” than the one he was presented at the previous Eurogroup meeting in Brussels a week ago. The bailout program, according to Mr. Varoufakis, is part of the problem and as such cannot be a part of the solution.
The Finance Minister was optimistic that an agreement will be reached in 4 to 6 months for a new contract between Greece and Europe, with the participation of the IMF.
