Just a few days ahead of the crucial meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at the Summit of European leaders on February 12, the French socialists and the Italian politicians of the center-left have apparently assumed the role of mediator between the Greek government and Europe.

Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis has already arranged meetings with his French and Italian counterparts, following telephone conversations held earlier this week.

More specifically, the Greek FinMin will meet with Michel Sapin next Monday in Paris, and a few days later he is scheduled to meet with Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan. It should be noted that PM Alexis Tsipras has also been invited to Paris in order to discuss with French President Francois Hollande the new government’s agenda ahead of the Summit in February.

The purpose of these meetings is primarily to help the European political forces determine the intentions of the new, leftist government in Greece. For its part, the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government hopes to form an alliance with governments of countries that have ideological affinities with Greece and also a cumulative debt of 4 billion euros, which is a threat to the European Union.

The goal of the new economic team is a common European front that will demand a “new deal” against austerity, that will help European countries exit recession.