German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble defended the view that European finance ministers should set a mechanism which would automatically put the brakes on state expenditure, arguing that if things don’t go well for Greece, there must be such a mechanism.
Arriving at Eurgroup meeting, he publicly criticized the government of Alexis Tsipras saying: ” Greece has made wrong decisions. Greeks should be blamed for their choices”.
Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem warned that a final decision on Greece’s bailout program, and debt relief, is not likely today.
Asked on what are the prospects for Greek debt relief to be on the table today, he answered: “We’re definitely going to discuss it. We’ll discuss when, if, under what conditions this could take place, is it necessary. But this is the first discussion we’ll have on it. I don’t expect any definite conclusions as yet,” he said.
Mr. Dijsselbloem also said that ministers need more time to consider Greece’s reforms and its proposals for contingency measures.
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