The Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is in Berlin today, where he is scheduled to meet with his German counterpart Angela Merkel at 1pm. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Mr. Samaras intends to ask for debt relief in the form of reduced loan interest rates or extending payment deadlines.
The Greek side is banking on the recent messages of support from Mrs. Merkel, who expressed her admiration of the Greek reform efforts against expectations. The German side was careful however to now cultivate “wrong expectations” that any negotiations will take place, with press officer Steffen Seibert pointing out that the meeting is merely a “good opportunity” for the Greek Prime Minister to “update” Mrs. Merkel of recent developments.
Furthermore, the recent comments of Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem that many Finance Ministers “are starting to lose their patience” and that “new sacrifices” will be necessary indicate that despite the positive remarks concerning the Greek efforts, there is suspicion and doubt as to the resolve.
In any case Mr. Samaras will explain that there is no chance of further wage and pension cuts or any new taxes, because they will more than likely have a negative impact on the financial recovery and jeopardize the success of the program. The Handelsblatt newspaper suggested that Mrs. Merkel will simply praise Greek efforts and ‘encourage’ Athens to fulfill its obligations, cutting short any hopes of negotiating.
