I have no idea whether these warm Eurogroup feelings towards Greece have something to do with the upcoming Valentine. Most probably not. But Dijsselbloem & Co had rather some praise for Greece and not the usual sour expressions in their faces.
Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem upon arriving:
“The Greek program has not derailed. Greece is taking stock of progress… ground work has been done. The process continues and quite a lot of ground has been covered. I’m optimistic!”.
What has happened? Did Greece manage the impossible like strike an agreement with lenders over the Pensions Reform and other ‘little things’ like additional austerity measures to fill budget gaps of estimated 4 billion euro for the next two years? No. Creditors’ representatives left Athens last Friday and it is not clear when they come back in order to proceed with the Greek Program Review and close the issue by end of March.
What has happened? I believe, the Eurogroup Finance Ministers are scared to death about the trembling of the Deutsche Bank and the sell-off in European bankstocks, despite their claim that the whole issue is rather exaggerated.
Who would care about Greece if the once powerful Deutsche Bank collapse?
Another factor for the hugs & hearts could also be the Green Light Greece gave to NATO for an intervention in the Aegean Sea in order to ‘stem the flow of refugees and migrants.”
PS Time for a Greek break 🙂 – Even if the Eurogroup meeting is continuing as I write this post.
