The critical Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg concluded shortly after 8pm on Thursday evening without an agreement for Greece. In th e press conference that followed, Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem commented that very little progress had been made in the negotiations and that there was no agreement in sight.
Mr. Dijsselbloem argued that the reform proposals submitted by the Greek government were deemed insufficient by the institutions. He did, however, note that although there is very little time left, an agreement is still possible, provided new proposals are submitted in the next few days.
Similarly, European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that the situation was very serious and critical and stressed the need for further negotiations. Moscovici and Dijsselbloem argued that there was some miscommunication with the Greek government and explained that since the meeting between PM Alexis Tsipras, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Mr. Dijsselbloem, no new proposals were submitted by the Greek side.
Although Mr. Dijsselbloem claimed to make every effort to keep Greece in the euro, he clarified that he is prepared for possibilities and commented that reliable measures will be necessary, along with a restructure of the state, public sector and the economy. The IMF’s general director Christine Lagarde warned that unless Greece pays the three loan installments, which been rolled into one, by the end of June, they it will default on its obligations towards the Fund. She also claimed that the proposals submitted by the institutions were very reasonable.
With little time left, the president of the European Council Donald Tusk announced his decision to call a Euro Summit on Greece on Monday, in order to urgently discuss the situation of Greece at the highest political level. Earlier, the European Commission VP Valdis Dombrovskis announced that the lack of a deal was a “strong signal” for Greece to “engage seriously in negotiations” and noted that the Eurogroup was ready to convene at “any moment”.
