Berlin: Agreements on troika’s role legal, therefore binding

The issue of Troika’s presence in Greece and its involvement in the country’s finances is a heated debate now in Europe

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s spokeswoman, Marianne Kothe, underlined on Monday that the role of the EC-ECB-IMF troika of Greece’s creditors has been determined in the agreements signed by the former Greek governments, which are legal and therefore binding.

The issue of troika’s inspectors’ presence in Greece and their involvement in the country’s finances is a debate now heating up in Europe, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis insist that the inspections by representatives of Greece’s lenders must end.

With regard to this issue, the German FinMin’s spokeswoman said the agreements determining the Troika’s role cannot be changed unilaterally. Moreover, when asked whether a meeting has been arranged between FinMin Varoufakis and Wolfgang Schaeuble, she replied that the two men might meet in the next few days, although nothing has been decided yet.