European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reportedly said that meeting Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Brussels on Wednesday over the debt issue would be a waste of time.
The Greek PM is meeting on Wednesday evening with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande to seek a political solution on the Greek debt issue. Juncker said that he will not be present at the meeting.
The talks would be on the sidelines of a European Union leaders meeting with Latin American and Caribbean heads of state. Juncker allegedly said that he would rather talk to the Latin Americans than talk to Tsipras.
Meanwhile, a report from Brussels said that on a technical level Greece needs to find 440 million euros to close the fiscal gap for 2015 in order for the bailout program’s fifth review to be completed by June 15. The European Commission is expecting the Greek proposal to close the gap so the 1% primary surplus target is reached.
The fiscal gap can close if Athens achieves spending cuts in social security and pension funds. The alternative is to secure the 440 millions by implementing additional taxes. However, the alternative solution could not be monitored by the European Commission.
Regarding Greece’s request for debt restructuring and additional financing for growth projects, the European Commission refuses to discuss it at the present moment as premature. The issue can be discussed after the fifth review is completed and will only be discussed at staff level initially.
Analysts say that if Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem and Euro Working Group (EWG) President Thomas Wieser are present at the meeting between Tsipras, Merkel and Hollande, it would be an indicator that Greece and creditors are closer to a solution.
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