Despite the many efforts and long discussions in Brussels, Greece and its European partners were unable to come to an agreement and as such, no joint statement was issued.
According to information made available to To Vima, the phrase “extend, amend and conclude” included in the draft of the statement was controversial, with Greece disagreeing with the term “extend” and Germany not accepting the term “amend”. Furthermore, the term “current” also caused some arguments, whether it would relate to the program, agreement or settlement.
On his way out of the Eurogroup, the Minister of Finances Yanis Varoufakis commented that the goal of the meeting in Brussels was never to come to an agreement, hinting towards a new meeting on Monday, while stressing that there was “no request for an extension”.
The Finance Minister explained that the Greek government has not problem cooperating with the EU, ECB, IMF and other partners, however a balance must be found. He also underlined that the democratically-elected government must be recognized, while noting that the goal is to create a bridge to “something new” that will not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Mr. Varoufakis further stated that there were agreements in certain areas and that the goal is to crate a new contract with Europe.
