The Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem commented on the recent talks with the Greek government that resulted in an agreement at the Eurogroup on the 20th of February to extend the Greek loan agreement.
In his interview to the Financial Times, Mr. Dijsselbloem admits to changing the “Moscovici draft” of the agreement, but blamed the European Commission and – indirectly – Pierre Moscovici himself for not informing him of his moves. Mr. Dijsselbloem opined that the Commission was more lenient towards Greece than its other creditors and its intervention in the talks “short-circuited” the whole process.
The Dutch minister argued that the newly-elected Greek government softened its hard stance after public statements by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and others caused massive withdrawals from Greek banks. The prospect of the outflow of funds increasing urged the Greek government to come to an agreement much quicker.
Regarding the agreement itself, Mr. Dijsselbloem notes that after hours of discussion with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, he gave PM Tsipras a “take it or leave it” offer. About 15 minutes later the two sides communicated again, altered some of the wording in the proposal and came to an agreement.
The Financial Times point out that Mr. Dijsselbloem never apologized for his aggressive stance, claiming that it was his job to pressure the Greek Minister of Finances. Mr. Dijsselbloem also denied rumors that he almost came to blows with Mr. Varoufakis when things heated up during the talks.
