Both German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and his French counterpart Michel Sapin appeared optimistic that an agreement to achieve a first review between Greece and its institutional lenders is possible this month.
Speaking on the sidelines of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meeting in Washington D.C. on Saturday, Schäuble said the two sides could reach a resolution after EU finance ministers meet in Amsterdam next weekend. He also repeated that the leftist
Greek government must focus on implementing agreed to reforms — yet another indirect statement by the German minister against starting debt relief talks.
“Everybody knows that the maneuvering space for the Greek government is limited,” he said, adding: “But all say at the same time Greece must do more and can do more.”
Sapin noted that “it is crucial to resolve the Greek issue now or we will always be on the edge of a cliff,” while calling on the IMF to remain in the group of institutional creditors propping up the Greek state’s finances.
The IMF had demanded debt relief for Greece and additional measures by Athens to ensure that it meets targets, while European institutions and European leaders, particularly Schäuble are negatively disposed to debt relief but more flexible on the issue of whether current tax and spending cut measures will meet stated goals, especially a 3.5-percent primary budget surplus in 2018.
The leftist Greek government signed the country’s third memorandum (bailout) worth nearly 90 billion euros last July.
