The German Minister of Finances Wolfgang Schäuble warned that Greece must implement the terms of the program agreement in order to receive any further funding, in the press conference that followed the Ecofin council on Tuesday.
When asked to comment on his Greek counterpart, the German Minister told journalist that “Varoufakis is the only one in the Eurogroup who thought no time had been wasted” and clarified that he has no additional information on the financial situation in Greece. He also called his Greek colleague “foolishly naïve”.
Mr. Schäuble claimed that the Greek government has agreed to fulfill all of its commitments towards its creditors in Eurogroup agreement of the 20th of February.
The Greek Minister of State Nikos Pappas responded that “it is clear that the failure of the Greek asphyxiation plan has brought some in an awkward position” and argued that Mr. Schäuble’s comments were intended for his “internal and external audience”.
Mr. Pappas further explained that these comments are “incompatible” both with his institutional position and the European expectation for a new solution and added that his “obsession and persistence on this policy and attitude are incompatible with the path for a united and democratic Europe”.
