In the wake of a European Commission report, released on Monday, regarding Greece’s implementation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) program, sources in Brussels noted that it was the Tsipras government’s decision to consider all issues “political and toxic” in 2015 that led to delays.
“We had to explain, issue by issue, the need for reforms, whereas today everyone understands that we’re dealing with problems that must be correct, and this is the government’s possession,” European sources told “N”.
Another source of delay, according to the same sources, was a lack of communication between European creditors and the IMF, which the former claim deliberately lowered the level of a primary budget surplus goal for 2018 – at 2.2 percent of GDP, down from 3.5 percent that European wanted.
The Fund’s intent, sources said, aimed to pressure the Europeans into agreeing for more generous debt relief measures for Greece.
