Lots of talk and posturing at press conferences, no progress yet on Greek debt restructuring.
Eurozone finance ministers agreed on February 20 to extend Greece’s financial rescue by four months, averting a potential cash crunch in March that could have forced the country out of the currency area.
But the extension was granted to give Athens time to negotiate a list of reforms by the end of April that would unblock further aid to the country, whose leftist-led government pledged to reverse austerity.
Tsipras, who was also meeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday, called for a change in the message the euro zone was sending Greece.
“Now is the time to give a message of hope to the Greek people, not only implement, implement, implement and obligations, obligations, obligations,” he said.
But Juncker said recent progress has been too slow.
“I’m not satisfied with the developments in recent weeks,” Juncker said. “I don’t think that we have made sufficient progress, but we will try to push in the direction of a successful conclusion of the issues we have to deal with.”
Meanwhile German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said the lack of progress increases the chances of an accidental Greek exit from the euro. Here is a direct video link.
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