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| Greece’s Debt Talks Will Move to More Technical Level | Greece’s Debt Talks Will Move to More Technical Level |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| BRUSSELS — Greece’s debt negotiations with its international creditors will proceed to the next, more technical level later this week, as a result of an agreement hashed out on Monday by eurozone finance ministers. | |
| The left-led Athens government, which came to power in January on a pledge to stop Greece’s capitulation to inspectors from the so-called troika that represents the country’s creditors, immediately began taking pains to say the new round of talks will be on its own terms. | |
| But after weeks of wrangling over how and whether to continue hewing to the dictates of its 240-billion-euro bailout program, Greece has clearly tried the patience of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers who have been holding the discussions so far. And so on Wednesday, Greece will begin talks in Brussels directly with representatives of the troika: the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. | |
| “There is no further time to lose,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said here at a news conference Monday evening. The talks “must and will start” on Wednesday, he said. | “There is no further time to lose,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said here at a news conference Monday evening. The talks “must and will start” on Wednesday, he said. |
| And though the Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been insisting that it will negotiate only with the creditors in Brussels, to avoid the continued stigma of inspectors periodically occupying Athens, Eurogroup members on Monday indicated that it was not feasible to get a clear picture of the Greek economy without emissaries visiting Greece’s capital. | And though the Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been insisting that it will negotiate only with the creditors in Brussels, to avoid the continued stigma of inspectors periodically occupying Athens, Eurogroup members on Monday indicated that it was not feasible to get a clear picture of the Greek economy without emissaries visiting Greece’s capital. |
| “Some people will have to be on the ground in Athens,” Mr. Dijsselbloem said. That visit would be in addition to the meeting with the Greek officials in Brussels on Wednesday, although Mr. Dijsselbloem did not say when it would take place. | “Some people will have to be on the ground in Athens,” Mr. Dijsselbloem said. That visit would be in addition to the meeting with the Greek officials in Brussels on Wednesday, although Mr. Dijsselbloem did not say when it would take place. |
| The visitors would be given “full access” to Greek officials, Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, told reporters after the meeting. But those visitors should not “enter the ministries” displaying “a kind of power play that smacked of a colonial attitude,” said Mr. Varoufakis. “That practice is finished,” he said. | |
| Although European officials had agreed in principle in late February to disburse an additional 7 billion euros, or about $7.6 billion, from Greece’s bailout program, they have indicated that no money will be released before a full assessment of the Greek economy is complete and overhauls are in place. | Although European officials had agreed in principle in late February to disburse an additional 7 billion euros, or about $7.6 billion, from Greece’s bailout program, they have indicated that no money will be released before a full assessment of the Greek economy is complete and overhauls are in place. |
| And they have said it would happen only if the new left-leaning Greek government could demonstrate it was serious about improving its tax-collecting efforts and making structural changes in the economy. | And they have said it would happen only if the new left-leaning Greek government could demonstrate it was serious about improving its tax-collecting efforts and making structural changes in the economy. |
| Greece could have access bailout money as soon as it moves to pass laws and make those structural changes, Mr. Dijsselbloem said at the news conference. But those payments would be made only once such steps are “well off the ground,” he said. | Greece could have access bailout money as soon as it moves to pass laws and make those structural changes, Mr. Dijsselbloem said at the news conference. But those payments would be made only once such steps are “well off the ground,” he said. |
| Payments to Greece could be “cut into parts, which we’ve done before,” he said, apparently offering Greece the incentive of financial rewards each time it made significant progress toward its creditors’ goals. | Payments to Greece could be “cut into parts, which we’ve done before,” he said, apparently offering Greece the incentive of financial rewards each time it made significant progress toward its creditors’ goals. |
| Talks during the last two weeks about where and when meetings should be held between the Greek government and troika representatives had been “a complete waste of time,” Mr. Dijsselbloem told the news conference. | Talks during the last two weeks about where and when meetings should be held between the Greek government and troika representatives had been “a complete waste of time,” Mr. Dijsselbloem told the news conference. |
| “We have lost over two weeks in which very little progress has been made,” Mr. Dijsselbloem told reporters on his way into the Eurogroup meeting on Monday afternoon. “So we have to stop wasting time and really start the talks now seriously.” | “We have lost over two weeks in which very little progress has been made,” Mr. Dijsselbloem told reporters on his way into the Eurogroup meeting on Monday afternoon. “So we have to stop wasting time and really start the talks now seriously.” |
| There were other signs of Eurogroup impatience. | There were other signs of Eurogroup impatience. |
| The Irish finance minister, Michael Noonan, told reporters as he entered the meeting that he understood Athens had put the deputy prime minister’s office in charge of holding discussions with the international bailout monitors. That represented “significant logistic progress,” Mr. Noonan said. | The Irish finance minister, Michael Noonan, told reporters as he entered the meeting that he understood Athens had put the deputy prime minister’s office in charge of holding discussions with the international bailout monitors. That represented “significant logistic progress,” Mr. Noonan said. |
| He did not mention the Greek deputy prime minister, Giannis Dragasakis, by name. But an enhanced role for Mr. Dragasakis, a longtime politician, might be welcomed by many eurozone officials who are said to have grown weary of tMr. Varoufakis, a leftist academic whose fiery rhetoric and lack of experience in government have generated tensions during the negotiations. | |
| But a short time after Mr. Noonan spoke, Mr. Dragasakis’s office in Athens issued a statement denying that he would be leading any discussions with Greece’s creditors or their representatives. “There is no change to government planning for negotiations,” the statement said. “The government is represented at the Eurogroup by Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.” | But a short time after Mr. Noonan spoke, Mr. Dragasakis’s office in Athens issued a statement denying that he would be leading any discussions with Greece’s creditors or their representatives. “There is no change to government planning for negotiations,” the statement said. “The government is represented at the Eurogroup by Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.” |
| For his part, Mr. Varoufakis told reporters late Monday that Mr. Noonan had probably “fallen prey to misreporting.” | |
| Late last week, Mr. Varoufakis submitted a set of proposed measures, including an unorthodox plan to enlist Greek citizens and tourists in an undercover program meant to identify tax evaders. | Late last week, Mr. Varoufakis submitted a set of proposed measures, including an unorthodox plan to enlist Greek citizens and tourists in an undercover program meant to identify tax evaders. |
| If that idea conveyed a sense of desperation, it might be for good reason. Greece risks running out of money before the end of this month, as tax receipts shrink and the economy shows signs of lapsing back into recession. The government could have trouble repaying or refinancing about €6 billion in debt obligations for this month, including around €1.5 billion in payments to the International Monetary Fund and more than €3 billion in Treasury bill redemptions. | If that idea conveyed a sense of desperation, it might be for good reason. Greece risks running out of money before the end of this month, as tax receipts shrink and the economy shows signs of lapsing back into recession. The government could have trouble repaying or refinancing about €6 billion in debt obligations for this month, including around €1.5 billion in payments to the International Monetary Fund and more than €3 billion in Treasury bill redemptions. |
| Asked for his assessment about the current cash position of Greece, Mr. Varoufakis declined to offer numbers. He said Greece’s liquidity position would be “guaranteed” by the government and its creditors. | |
| In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday, Mr. Varoufakis said Greece could call elections or a referendum in the event that its proposed overhauls are rejected by international creditors. As the Greek news media feverishly speculated over the weekend about a possible referendum on the country’s membership in the eurozone, the government accused the newspaper of distorting the minister’s comments, saying he had not suggested Greece would hold a referendum on the euro but on the country’s economic program and fiscal policy. | In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday, Mr. Varoufakis said Greece could call elections or a referendum in the event that its proposed overhauls are rejected by international creditors. As the Greek news media feverishly speculated over the weekend about a possible referendum on the country’s membership in the eurozone, the government accused the newspaper of distorting the minister’s comments, saying he had not suggested Greece would hold a referendum on the euro but on the country’s economic program and fiscal policy. |
| In a separate interview with Der Spiegel in Germany, published on Saturday, Prime Minister Tsipras made a vaguer reference, saying the question in a possible referendum could be, “Do you want your dignity or a continuation of this unworthy policy?” | In a separate interview with Der Spiegel in Germany, published on Saturday, Prime Minister Tsipras made a vaguer reference, saying the question in a possible referendum could be, “Do you want your dignity or a continuation of this unworthy policy?” |
| Panos Kammenos, Mr. Tsipras’s junior coalition partner and the defense minister, also suggested on Saturday that a referendum could be an option. | Panos Kammenos, Mr. Tsipras’s junior coalition partner and the defense minister, also suggested on Saturday that a referendum could be an option. |
| Antonis Samaras, the former prime minister, on Sunday rejected a potential referendum as a “very bad development,” saying it would allow the government to shirk its responsibilities. The criticism continued on Monday with central members of Mr. Samaras’s conservative party describing Mr. Varoufakis as “dangerous” because of both the referendum idea and his proposal to employ Greeks and tourists as undercover agents to bolster a tax evasion crackdown. | Antonis Samaras, the former prime minister, on Sunday rejected a potential referendum as a “very bad development,” saying it would allow the government to shirk its responsibilities. The criticism continued on Monday with central members of Mr. Samaras’s conservative party describing Mr. Varoufakis as “dangerous” because of both the referendum idea and his proposal to employ Greeks and tourists as undercover agents to bolster a tax evasion crackdown. |
| Some officials of the Syriza-led government also expressed reservations about a referendum, with the prominent legislator Alexis Mitropoulos describing the idea as “naïve and thoughtless.” | Some officials of the Syriza-led government also expressed reservations about a referendum, with the prominent legislator Alexis Mitropoulos describing the idea as “naïve and thoughtless.” |
| In October 2011, George Papandreou, the former prime minister, proposed a referendum on Greece’s loan agreement with creditors, prompting an outcry at home and abroad, and leading to the collapse of his socialist government, which was replaced by a unity coalition under a technocrat prime minister. | In October 2011, George Papandreou, the former prime minister, proposed a referendum on Greece’s loan agreement with creditors, prompting an outcry at home and abroad, and leading to the collapse of his socialist government, which was replaced by a unity coalition under a technocrat prime minister. |
| At his news conference late on Monday, Mr. Varoufakis decried the way his comments had been presented in Corriere della Serra as part of a “process of misinformation.” Mr. Varoufakis said any reference that he made to a referendum had been entirely “hypothetical,” because he was referring to the improbable scenario that European lenders rejected all of Greece’s proposed reforms. | |
| Opinion polls consistently indicate that most Greeks want the country to remain in the eurozone, but a majority continue to back the government’s tough stance against creditors despite warnings that euro membership could be at stake. | Opinion polls consistently indicate that most Greeks want the country to remain in the eurozone, but a majority continue to back the government’s tough stance against creditors despite warnings that euro membership could be at stake. |