'Institutions', Greek govt to begin talks

The Eurogroup meeting only lasted 90 minutes

An express meeting of the Eurogroup on the Greek issue was concluded at 16:00 GMT after just 90 minutes into the meeting.
 

According to Reuters, which quotes a European Union official, there will be no official announcement on Greece, while ministers seem to have requested “progress” on the issues on the part of the Greek government.

 

According to Eurogroup sources quoted by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, “Germany is furious with Greece for tabling a bill concerning humanitarian aid, without an ‘ok’ by lenders”.

 

During the Eurogroup talks, the decision was made to begin reaching an agreement based on the meeting of Feb. 20. The negotiations with technocrats from the Institutions (namely EU, ECB and IMF) are expected to begin on Wednesday in Brussels.

 

According to information from Brussels, there was a talk concerning fiscal gaps, while there seems to be a convergence of opinion and will to cover them.

 

Yanis Varoufakis is expected to make an announcement later on Monday after meeting with other Brussels officials.

 

According to the “spin” out of Athens, the Greek government has found five reasons to be “happy” with the Eurogroup meeting:

 

1. The process of the implementation of the Eurogroup’s Feb. 20th decision is to begin immediately. This is a positive sign which will aid in alleviating the ECB’s stance with Greece.

2. Despite the misinformation of the past few days, Greek proposals were decidedly accepted by the Eurogroup.

3. Officials of the “Institutions” and Greece will begin talks on Wednesday. Talks between such will take place exclusively in Brussels and not Athens.

4. The will of the Institutions to immediately solve the fiscal problem has been clarified.

5. The Greek government will continue enriching the list of reforms with additional proposals.