ECB president Mario Draghi sent a clear message to the Greek government prior to Monday’s crucial meeting between the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
During statements to the committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs at the European Parliament in Brussels, Draghi stressed that the main wager remains to resume talks between the Greek government and representatives of the three institutions (IMF, European Commission and ECB).
The president of ECB also stressed that the European Central Bank is willing to accept Greek bonds as collateral if the evaluation of the current program is completed.
Regarding the extension by ELA that the Greek coalition SYRIZA-ANEL seeks, Mario Draghi stated that the Central Bank is bound by the prohibition of monetary financing and further stressed that ELA provides assistance to Greek banks and not to governments.
However, he appeared optimistic for Greece returning to growth.
Furthermore, Mario Draghi launched an attack again the Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis, while at the same time expressed his confidence on ongoing talks and as he characteristically said “with goodwill from all sides” the outcome will be good and will help restoring this credible prospects for successful completion of the evaluation process.
Finally, the president of ECB denied any possible blackmail to Greece and among others stressed that Greece must fully meet its commitments and fulfill all loan obligations to its creditors.
