The next few days leading up to the European Summit scheduled for the 12th of February are going to be critical for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose main priorities will be to manage expectations and preserve the peace in Greece and Europe.
An unnamed government official told To Vima on Monday evening that “we may see smoked for the Commission’s building on Wednesday”, in reference to Mr. Tsipras’ meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on the 4th of February. The Greek Premier is then scheduled to meet French President Francois Hollande, while Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is rumored to see Wolfgang Schäuble next week, ahead of the Summit.
The goals are clear, to establish a channel of communication with Paris, Rome and Berlin and then to define the negotiation framework between Athens and the Commission. After Mr. Tsipras discusses his police statements next week, he will hope to attend the Summit in a friendly, rather than hostile, environment.
Meanwhile the German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be meeting with US President Barack Obama early next week, indicating that there will be a wealth of behind-the-scenes debates and developments.
After the tension that was caused last Friday in Europe, following the visits of Mr. Schulz and Mr. Dijsselbloem to Athens, the government’s main goal wants to preserve domestic peace. As such, the government Vice President Yannis Dragasakis has arranged a series of meetings with bank representatives – on Monday he met with Piraeus Bank’s Michalis Sallas.
The two sides reportedly discussed how to support the Greek economy, while the government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis noted that the government will not carry out any actions that may be detrimental to the banks. Based on all of the aforementioned, it appears that any government initiatives will not be extensive or aggressive.
