Schaeuble and Dijsselbloem say Greece should stop wishful thinking!

Contrary to Greek reports, there is no draft agreement being drawn up in Brussels

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem cut down Greece’s optimism for a solution on Wednesday with various media reports. Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of Seven industrial nations in Dresden, Germany, both EU officials were quick to clip Greece’s wings at a time when the Greek government had started to draft an agreement with creditors that aims to pave the way for aid.

Schaeuble told German ARD TV that he was surprised that there was news coming out of Athens about the two sides being close to a deal. “Negotiations between the Greek government and the institutions haven’t progressed much,” he said.

Dijsselbloem’s comments moved along the same lines. “They have to really put in more effort to make this the final stretch,” he told Reuters. “They’ve been optimistic all along.”

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed that Greece and its international creditors were not yet near drafting an agreement. Instead,  he said that a staff-level agreement was being drafted.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin also said that there was no draft agreement, noting that time was running out for Greece.