The critical Brussels Group negotiations, which began on Friday, concluded on Monday evening, with the Greek representatives returning to Athens.
Sources from Athens and Brussels report that a Euro Working Group will be called on Wednesday, with the Greek claiming that a Eurogroup teleconference may also take place. Athens is pressuring for such a Eurogroup meeting, in order to expedite the necessary procedures that will restore funding to the Greek economy.
At the upcoming Euro Working Group session, the Greek expects to receive at least 500 million euros in funding, which will allow the Greek government to pay off the next IMF loan payment on the 9th of April, worth 420 million euros.
Meanwhile, the EU, ECB and IMF technical teams are set to depart from Athens on Wednesday, due to the Catholic Easter. They are set to return to Greece on Tuesday the 7th of March, in order to collect further data from certain Ministries.
The President of the European Council Donald Tusk made a contradictory statement, arguing that it is unlikely that a solution for Greece will be agreed upon before Easter. He then stressed that it is likely that an agreement, which will be based on the Eurogroup agreement of the 20th of February, will be reached by the end of April.
Additionally, the European Commission’s Deputy Chief Spokesperson Mina Andreeva commented that the recent discussions were carried out in a constructive climate and stressed the need to continue, until a reliable and complete list of reforms can be agreed upon.
