Greece fails to receive fast cash from eurozone
Greece has failed to secure a quick cash payment from the eurozone rescue fund after senior finance officials from the 19-member monetary union agreed that the cash-strapped country was not legally entitled to the money.
On Wednesday, the officials reached the agreement that Athens had no legal claim to €1.2 billion ($1.31 billion) sitting in the eurozone’s bailout fund.
“We see no reason to release it”, German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said, adding that funding from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which is a special purpose vehicle financed by members of the eurozone to address the European sovereign-debt crisis, was made available to Greece last year as a safeguard, but had not been essential.
Jaeger underlined that eurozone finance ministers took the decision last month to transfer that money back to the Luxembourg-based EFSF, and utilize it just in case Greece needs it in the future.
Over the past weeks, Athens and the EU have been at loggerheads over the country’s bailout loans.
The government of Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza party stormed to victory in January 25 elections, has tried to renegotiate the terms of the country’s €240-billion (USD 270 billion) bailout it received in 2010 in return for imposing harsh austerity measures.
During his electoral campaign, Tsipras vowed to reconsider the austerity measures that have caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country.
The measures have forced people to endure multiple tax increases, along with cuts in pension and salary, in exchange for bailout loans by the troika of lenders - the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
On February 20, a tentative agreement to extend Greece’s bailout program by four months was reached during preparatory talks between Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, IMF chief Christine Lagarde and Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
However, Greece was asked to submit a list of proposed reforms to the European Union in order for the agreement to take effect. The reforms were later approved by Eurozone finance ministers.
MP/NN/HMV
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