Despite calls by the IMF that Greece’s debt must be addressed by creditors, no agreement was reached at Monday’s Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.
The Greek debt issue was put on the negotiating table with the hope of reaching a comprehensive political agreement that would include: the ratification of the institutions' draft report on the measures voted, the definition of the primary surpluses that Greece must meet after 2018 and the definition of the medium-term measures on debt so that the IMF participates in the Greek programme.
“The Eurogroup concluded without an agreement on debt. There will be no extra Eurogroup before the one scheduled on June 15,” the source said, adding that the gap between the International Monetary Fund and Germany could not be bridged in today’s meeting.
The main resistance came from Germany despite the country’s Foreign Minister calling for a restricting of Greece’s debt.
France’s new Minister for the Economy Bruno Le Maire had expressed hope that the Eurogroup will conclude with a "global agreement" regarding Greece but had pre-empted German resistance before the meeting saying achieving convergence between Berlin and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will require significant effort because the initial positions of the two sides were "quite far apart".
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble responded by saying that he has not been given the German Parliament's mandate to reduce Greek debt.
