This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/business/international/greece-debt-eurozone-finance-ministers.html
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Eurozone Ministers Hold Emergency Talks on Greece | Eurozone Ministers Hold Emergency Talks on Greece |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BRUSSELS — Eurozone finance ministers are meeting here on Friday for the latest round of emergency talks aimed at breaking the deadlock with Greece, a day after Germany rejected a request by Athens to extend a critical loan program. | BRUSSELS — Eurozone finance ministers are meeting here on Friday for the latest round of emergency talks aimed at breaking the deadlock with Greece, a day after Germany rejected a request by Athens to extend a critical loan program. |
| The meeting — the third of its kind in two weeks — comes as the anti-austerity government in Athens continues to balk at demands from Germany and other eurozone countries that it abide by the terms of a bailout program that a previous government agreed to in 2012. | The meeting — the third of its kind in two weeks — comes as the anti-austerity government in Athens continues to balk at demands from Germany and other eurozone countries that it abide by the terms of a bailout program that a previous government agreed to in 2012. |
| Many Greeks blame the cost-cutting requirements of that loan program for their country’s economic woes and high unemployment. And Greece’s new leftist government was elected in January on campaign promises that it would get a better deal from the country’s creditors. | Many Greeks blame the cost-cutting requirements of that loan program for their country’s economic woes and high unemployment. And Greece’s new leftist government was elected in January on campaign promises that it would get a better deal from the country’s creditors. |
| Intensive diplomatic efforts are underway to try to clinch a deal before Feb. 28, when the current bailout arrangement Greece has with its European lenders expires. A pending loan disbursement of 7.2 billion euros, or about $8.2 billion — money Athens needs to meet coming debt obligations — hangs in the balance. | Intensive diplomatic efforts are underway to try to clinch a deal before Feb. 28, when the current bailout arrangement Greece has with its European lenders expires. A pending loan disbursement of 7.2 billion euros, or about $8.2 billion — money Athens needs to meet coming debt obligations — hangs in the balance. |
| On Friday, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany took a somewhat softer tone than the German Finance Ministry did the day before, when the country rejected the Greek letter proposing to extend the loan agreement. And she took pains to say that the eurozone countries were intent on keeping Greece in the currency bloc. | On Friday, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany took a somewhat softer tone than the German Finance Ministry did the day before, when the country rejected the Greek letter proposing to extend the loan agreement. And she took pains to say that the eurozone countries were intent on keeping Greece in the currency bloc. |
| But in a joint news conference in Paris with President François Hollande of France, Ms. Merkel indicated that the Greek proposal was not sufficient in its current form. | But in a joint news conference in Paris with President François Hollande of France, Ms. Merkel indicated that the Greek proposal was not sufficient in its current form. |
| “There is a need for significant improvements in the substance of what is being discussed,” Ms. Merkel said, “so that we can vote on it in the German Bundestag, for example next week.” | “There is a need for significant improvements in the substance of what is being discussed,” Ms. Merkel said, “so that we can vote on it in the German Bundestag, for example next week.” |
| A day earlier, Ms. Merkel and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece spoke by telephone for 50 minutes, as national experts from eurozone countries sought to negotiate the outlines of a compromise that is acceptable to both sides. | A day earlier, Ms. Merkel and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece spoke by telephone for 50 minutes, as national experts from eurozone countries sought to negotiate the outlines of a compromise that is acceptable to both sides. |
| Mr. Tsipras told Reuters on Friday that he was “certain” his government’s request for a six-month loan extension would be accepted despite Berlin’s objections, and he called for a “historic political decision” to seal a deal. | Mr. Tsipras told Reuters on Friday that he was “certain” his government’s request for a six-month loan extension would be accepted despite Berlin’s objections, and he called for a “historic political decision” to seal a deal. |
| But Greek officials were still taking a hard line ahead of the meeting in Brussels, a sign of the frayed trust between Athens and Berlin after weeks of increasingly bitter exchanges. | But Greek officials were still taking a hard line ahead of the meeting in Brussels, a sign of the frayed trust between Athens and Berlin after weeks of increasingly bitter exchanges. |
| “The Greek government has done all it should at every level in an effort to reach a solution,” Gavriil Sakellaridis, a spokesman for the Greek government, told Greek television on Friday. | “The Greek government has done all it should at every level in an effort to reach a solution,” Gavriil Sakellaridis, a spokesman for the Greek government, told Greek television on Friday. |
| “The responsibility now weighs on others,” he said in an apparent dig at Germany. He reiterated that Greece opposed the terms of the existing bailout signed by the previous government. | “The responsibility now weighs on others,” he said in an apparent dig at Germany. He reiterated that Greece opposed the terms of the existing bailout signed by the previous government. |
| On his way to the Brussels meeting on Friday, the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, did not sound ready to make any concessions. | On his way to the Brussels meeting on Friday, the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, did not sound ready to make any concessions. |
| “The Greek government has gone not the extra mile” but “the extra 10 miles” in meeting the demands of its European creditors, Mr. Varoufakis told reporters. “Hopefully, at the end of this, we’ll come out with some white smoke,” he said, alluding to the signaling system the Vatican uses when selecting a new pope. | “The Greek government has gone not the extra mile” but “the extra 10 miles” in meeting the demands of its European creditors, Mr. Varoufakis told reporters. “Hopefully, at the end of this, we’ll come out with some white smoke,” he said, alluding to the signaling system the Vatican uses when selecting a new pope. |
| A senior European official on Friday stepped up his criticism of Greek negotiating tactics that he said had left some of the negotiators confused about what Athens was seeking. | |
| The “changing rhetoric of Greek authorities has created a certain erosion of trust, so we must build this once again during this Eurogroup meeting,” said the official, Valdis Dombrovskis, a vice president at the European Commission, which is helping to broker a deal. | |
| Earlier this week, Mr. Dombrovskis criticized Mr. Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, for circulating documents with the apparent goal of portraying a split between the Eurogroup president and other negotiators. The Eurogroup refers to the group of eurozone finance ministers. | |
| With 19 countries in the eurozone, there continued to be varying predictions of how things will play out. | With 19 countries in the eurozone, there continued to be varying predictions of how things will play out. |
| “I think they’ve now reached a point where they will tell Greece ‘if you really want to leave, leave,’” Finance Minister Edward Scicluna of Malta was reported by the website of the weekly Malta Today as saying on Friday. “And I think they mean it because Germany, the Netherlands and others will be hard, and they will insist that Greece repays back the solidarity shown by the member states by respecting the conditions.” | “I think they’ve now reached a point where they will tell Greece ‘if you really want to leave, leave,’” Finance Minister Edward Scicluna of Malta was reported by the website of the weekly Malta Today as saying on Friday. “And I think they mean it because Germany, the Netherlands and others will be hard, and they will insist that Greece repays back the solidarity shown by the member states by respecting the conditions.” |
| The comments by the Maltese minister suggest there is mounting pressure on Greece to come to an agreement. But Malta, a small island country in the Mediterranean, is far from the center of eurozone talks, in which France and Germany typically play decisive roles. | The comments by the Maltese minister suggest there is mounting pressure on Greece to come to an agreement. But Malta, a small island country in the Mediterranean, is far from the center of eurozone talks, in which France and Germany typically play decisive roles. |
| The sticking point is how closely Greece is prepared to abide by the tough conditions underpinning its bailout loans, which total €240 billion. | The sticking point is how closely Greece is prepared to abide by the tough conditions underpinning its bailout loans, which total €240 billion. |
| Greece has said it will adhere to the general terms of the bailout loan agreement but has not done enough to convince Germany and other eurozone lenders that it will abide by crucial conditions tied to those loan payments. | Greece has said it will adhere to the general terms of the bailout loan agreement but has not done enough to convince Germany and other eurozone lenders that it will abide by crucial conditions tied to those loan payments. |
| Greece is relying on loans from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. But the current negotiations involve only the European creditors, being represented by the Eurogroup of finance ministers from the 19 countries in the currency union. The group’s signoff would be required before any Greek proposal could move forward for final European approval. | Greece is relying on loans from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. But the current negotiations involve only the European creditors, being represented by the Eurogroup of finance ministers from the 19 countries in the currency union. The group’s signoff would be required before any Greek proposal could move forward for final European approval. |
| Finland is among the countries that share Germany’s reluctance to risk more taxpayer money by lending it to Greece. Other countries, including Ireland and Portugal, which have hewed to their own austerity-pegged bailout programs, insist that Greece do the same. | Finland is among the countries that share Germany’s reluctance to risk more taxpayer money by lending it to Greece. Other countries, including Ireland and Portugal, which have hewed to their own austerity-pegged bailout programs, insist that Greece do the same. |
| Even if Athens and the eurozone finance ministers reach a deal to extend the Greek bailout beyond Feb. 28, there may be additional hurdles. Such a move would require the approval of several parliaments in eurozone countries, including Finland and Germany. | Even if Athens and the eurozone finance ministers reach a deal to extend the Greek bailout beyond Feb. 28, there may be additional hurdles. Such a move would require the approval of several parliaments in eurozone countries, including Finland and Germany. |
| The two previous meetings of Eurogroup ministers over the past two weeks lasted several hours, only to end in deadlock and acrimony, in a stark demonstration of the gulf that separates Greece from the rest of the eurozone. The standoff also highlights the difficulties of managing a single currency and monetary policy, when the spending decisions are left to a multitude of sovereign countries with wildly varying economies and political leaders. | |
| “I don’t have to tell you that it’s quite complicated,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, told reporters ahead of the meeting. | “I don’t have to tell you that it’s quite complicated,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, told reporters ahead of the meeting. |
| “I’m talking to the main players, trying to find solutions,” he said. “There is still reason for some optimism, but it’s very difficult.” | “I’m talking to the main players, trying to find solutions,” he said. “There is still reason for some optimism, but it’s very difficult.” |
| If it does not reach a deal, Greece may run out of money in coming weeks and enter a period of political chaos and even greater hardship for the country, which already has huge levels of unemployment. | If it does not reach a deal, Greece may run out of money in coming weeks and enter a period of political chaos and even greater hardship for the country, which already has huge levels of unemployment. |
| There is pressure on the Eurogroup of financial ministers, too. If there is a failure to come to terms on Friday or any subsequent meetings next week, the euro currency union could start to unravel. There was speculation on Friday that there would be a summit meeting of European Union leaders next week to discuss ways to keep Greece in the currency bloc. | There is pressure on the Eurogroup of financial ministers, too. If there is a failure to come to terms on Friday or any subsequent meetings next week, the euro currency union could start to unravel. There was speculation on Friday that there would be a summit meeting of European Union leaders next week to discuss ways to keep Greece in the currency bloc. |
| A Greek departure from the euro currency union could lead Athens to continue making overtures to China and Russia, posing a threat to the strategic interests of the European Union and the United States in the Mediterranean. | A Greek departure from the euro currency union could lead Athens to continue making overtures to China and Russia, posing a threat to the strategic interests of the European Union and the United States in the Mediterranean. |