Greece – Institutions Reforms negotiations concluded without agreement for now

The bailout talks between Greece and its creditors have reportedly concluded in Brussels, apparently with progress even though without agreement. The Greek economic team packed its luggage and left the Belgian capital, the talks are excepted to continue in Athens, where the creditors’ technical teams will come to collect additional information and data. However, a first decision on the progress of negotiations is expected to be taken tomorrow by the Euro Working Group in a teleconference.  An extraordinary Eurogroup meeting that could unlock part from the last bailout tranche for Greece is unlikely to take place this week.

The Greek side is cautiously optimistic stating “a mutual will for agreement”.

Brussels sources described the negotiations as “productive”.

The two sides have been negotiating since last weekend on the basis of the list of planned reforms the Greek government had submitted to the lenders.

The vice president of the European Commission Donald Tusk has reportedly said that the agreement could be achieved by end of April.

The negotiations progress has turned into a water drop torture for Greece with the debt-ridden country running out of money and financial obligations to creditors awaiting to be met.

According to a high-ranking official from the Greek Finance Ministry, the 448-million-euro obligation to the IMF will be paid in time on April 9th.

Government sources said this morning that also “the 1.4-billion-euro to pay T-bills maturing on April 8th has been found,” so Skai TV.

Negotiations are tough with the Greek government to keep insisting on “red lines” like “no wages and pensions cuts, no mass lay-offs.”

As the Greeks struggle to get an agreement, some “europeans” keep dreaming of a Grexit and bet on the country’s economic collapse in the form of a credit event and default.

Media become victim of own scaremongering

Spreading panic and blatant false information, some dream night and day of a bank run. Yesterday, a German newspaper took some pictures of Greek pensioners standing line outside the banks as it was pensions pay day. The “newspaper” put a fat title of a Greek bank run. It is very easy to guess which German yellow press newspaper it was.

Last month, it was American think tank Stratfor that “saw” empty ATMs in downtown Athens. The misleading information was based on the false assumption that any line of 5 people outside a bank means their much awaited Greek collapse and panic among the Greeks.

KTG officially declares here that pensions pay day is at the end of every month,  varying between 28 and 30/31 of the month depending on the weekends and holidays. I also want to inform many pensioners have neither credit card nor do online banking.

PS have a cup of tea, guys, and relax 🙂