Another two weeks have been added to Greece’s obstacle course for economic recovery. The Eurogroup meeting in Brussels on May 11, like the one before it on April 24, did not release the funds Greece desperately needs. Instead, the prospective date for an agreement has been postponed for another two weeks as Greece’s funds are running low. Hopes are now pinned on May 25.

During Eurogroup, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis did not hide the huge liquidity problem facing Greece that he said was a “terrible urgent issue”.  He pointed to thorns in negotiations, stating however that there has been a convergence with Greece’s creditors in matters concerning taxation (eg. privatizations and red loans). He said that labor and social security are two problems that the government does not want to back down on. He linked the increase to retirement age and pension cuts called for by Greece’s creditors with development and job creation. 

Asked about how someone can get a pension at 58 in Greece, he explained that in Greece there is no Welfare state. He said that if a German lost his job at 60, he would get a subsidy until he reached 65 and then would get a pension. In Greece there is no such thing so it is not enough to just cut pensions.

Varoufakis appeared optimistic that the European Central Bank (ECB) would give leeway to Greece and that the ECB should reinstate its waiver on Greek banks’ collatoral. Here is what he said after the meeting on Greece.