The Minister of State Nikos Pappas declared that “under no conditions will the government request an extension of the bailout”, arguing that Woflgang Schäuble’s comments «prove that the matter is political, because he has to tell the German public opinion that the program failed”.
Mr. Pappas, who gave an interview to the Sto Kokkino radio station, further added that he was disappointed in how politicians and media in Greece have been quick to repeat “propaganda” that Greece went to the Eurogroup without proposals, which aims to end the debate about how the Greek program has failed.
The State Minister accepts that there are certain EU restrictions, however these cannot exceed the country’s fiscal capabilities and that his government’s strategy is to respect both EU regulations as well as popular rule. Mr. Pappas stressed the need to separate the loan agreement from the bailout program, which he argued was a matter of “domestic policy”.
