The Eurogroup on Monday approved for the commencement of discussions on a technical level of the Greek Ministry of Finances’ proposals, which has raised expectations in Athens.
The high expectations are due to the fact that the talks with the technical teams of the institutions will take place in Brussels, rather than Athens and that the government’s political officers will not be talking directly to the technocrat representatives of the three institutions. This, according to the government, suggests that the European Central Bank will soft its stance.
Ahead of the commencement of Wednesday’s talks, the government has announced that it is prepared to discuss improved versions of its proposals, without however further elaborating. Nevertheless, there appear to be some differences on approaching the process and the essence of the talks themselves.
Following the conclusion of the Eurogroup, the chief and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, commented that the Greek government must avoid any unilateral actions (hinting towards the recent bill to address the humanitarian crisis in Greece) and that the possibility of discussions with the technical teams taking place in Athens is still open.
What remains to be seen is how and whether the Greek government’s proposals will be reviewed and – primarily – what its total reform plan will be, when it is submitted in the Greek Parliament for discussion and approval at the end of April.
