In the coverage of the Greek crisis, media comment on the fresh doubts raised about the Greek deal after the IMF seriously questioned its participation into the programme. Meanwhile, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has called an extraordinary meeting in September to halt an excess of criticism regarding his leadership and bailout negotiations with the EU, organising an internal referendum for Sunday to see if there is a feasible alternative.
“The IMF will not give money to Greece, unless there is a debt restructuring,” an IMF official told journalists in Washington. The Daily Telegraph says the delay could last until next year, forcing the other two-thirds of the Troika – the ECB and European Commission – to bear the full cost of keeping Greece afloat. El Mundo says that without the IMF’s involvement, it is very unlikely that a deal could be reached before 20 August and adds difficulty to negotiations as another creditor would need to be found. De Standaard says Europe now faces a dilemma; either it has to agree on a debt settlement and change the Lisbon Treaty or pay the total €86 billion debt itself.
Les Echos says the news poured cold water on the hopes of euro area finance ministers, as Germany has never hidden its desire to exclude any renegotiation of Greek debt and also to see the IMF committing to the bailout. Il Giornale reports that the IMF is “dropping a bomb” on Greece. Tagszeitung’s Ulrike Hermann agrees with the IMF and states that the notion is not that “scandalous,” considering that Germany and France would be paying for the rescue of their banks. Angela Merkel should listen to the IMF.
Former Dutch PM Ruud Lubbers and professor Paul van Seters call on Jeroen Dijsselbloem as the president of the Eurogroup to ensure that debt relief and restructuring are the top priority in a HFD opinion piece. Corriere della Sera’s Federico Fubini claims that the IMF is “only saying out loud what all the others are thinking, but not saying.” Le Figaro deems the situation urgent as the banks’ health is getting worse, and time is pressing to recapitalise them. There are serious doubts about their solvency, as the July 13 agreement on a third bailout evaluates the banks’ needs at between €10bn and €25bn, but some commentators put the figure at €30bn or even €35bn.
First, the ECB needs to evaluate the banks’ situation and give its go-ahead. Meanwhile, Greek PM Tsipras has called an extraordinary meeting in September to halt an excess of criticism regarding his leadership and bailout negotiations with the EU, organising an internal referendum for Sunday to see if there is a feasible alternative. Kathimerini reports that the marathon meeting of the Central Committee confirmed that a disagreement is running deep within Syriza. According to SZ’s Mike Szymanski, Mr Tsipras is seeking to redefine his party towards the center, filling a vacuum. He will likely find the majority of his party behind him and he hopes to oust the dissenting voices from the party coalition.
A FAZ commentary notes that the “shaky foundation” of the negotiations is beginning to show. Although the institutions have only been in Athens for a few days, Tsipras has already been forced to discuss the question of power within his party. In other news, Capital.gr quotes Commissioner Oettinger’s interview with Hamburger Abendblatt. Mr Oettinger supported the negotiations, sided against a reduction of the Greek debt. The interests of the creditors and the Greek citizens are being balanced, he noted, adding that it is important to provide money to Greece so that the country can back on its feet.
Meanwhile, the WSJE quotes a senior diplomat who took part in the final stages of negotiations saying that President Juncker wasn’t among the small circle of leaders that agreed to the most contentious issues during the long summit night of 12 July. President Juncker disagreed with the way German Chancellor Angela Merkel used the threat of a “timeout” from the eurozone.
©europeanunion2015
