According to the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday that the Wednesday discussion with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was “lengthy and athletic.” “I only got three hours' sleep after having a marathon of a negotiation with the Greek Prime Minister,” said Mr Juncker at the General Assembly of the Committee of the Regions in Brussels.
The aim of this small group dinner, which was closely followed by technical experts who have been working for many weeks on an agreement, was to bring Athens and its creditors (the EU, the ECB and the IMF) together. This week, the EU, the ECB and the IMF each brought a series of reforms to the table which Greece must implement in exchange for payment of a last set of loans worth 7.2 billion euros.
Greece needs these funds to survive financially since it has a 300-million-euro payment to make to the IMF on Friday. A new summit meeting will take place in Brussels soon, with the aim of reaching an agreement on either Friday or Monday.
During Wednesday night to Thursday, Alexis Tsipras rejected some of the proposals offered by the creditors. The leader of the radical left was particularly against cuts in the lowest retirement pensions and an increase in VAT on electricity.
(Source: Belga)
