12 Feb 2015

EXCLUSIVE: How a German veto scuppered EU-Greece deal

For the second time in 24 hours, Greek negotiators at the EU summit in Brussels, believe that Germany has stymied an agreement over extending their stricken country’s debt facility.

A Greek government source said a form of words had been agreed as follows.

Negotiators had agreed “the possibility for reviewing technically, extending and successfully concluding the reviewed programme”.

The key word here is reviewed, because it signified that if Greece agreed to carry on with the programme originally imposed by the troika, that programme would be amended or altered.

Crucial for the Greek side, was an agreement that the review would still allow the Greek government to address its “humanitarian crisis”.

I understand that on both these issues, the review and the humanitarian crisis, the Greeks reached an agreement with eurozone negotiator Jeroen Djisselbloem, but that the form of words was then vetoed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble.