No 'Plan B' For Greece, Govt Official Says

Greece and its international creditors have not agreed on a “Plan B” in case the country fails to pay the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on time or default, as there is still no agreement over the disbursement of its bailout funds, a senior Greek official revealed.

Earlier today, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of a European Union summit focusing on migration policy. The two leaders’ meeting was reportedly held in a positive climate, while the Greek Premier requested to speed up the process in order to conclude a reform-for-cash deal with the single currency officials as agreed on the February 20 Eurogroup. On her behalf, the German Chancellor pushed Tsipras to implement economic reforms that would allow the disbursement of about seven billion euros of fresh bailout funds.

“The Greek government has got to show some backbone in its reform efforts,” European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici said earlier today, adding that “time is of the essence and it is really an urgent matter.”

A failure to find common ground would be viewed in Greece as a political event and dealt with in a political manner, the same unnamed Greek official said, leaving at the same time the possibility of snap elections and a referendum open. Although, as he concluded, such scenarios remain in a hypothetical sphere and do not affect the leftist-led government’s agenda.

Finally, according to yesterday’s reports, the German Finance Ministry appears rather skeptical ahead of Friday’s Eurogroup in Riga, Latvia, where Greece’s proposed reforms list will be examined. According to Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s spokesperson Martin Jaeger, Berlin has limited expectations from the Riga meeting regarding Greece’s crisis.