Wednesday, 17 June, 2015
EU Juncker Proposal Still On Table For Greece -Sources MNI
EU Juncker Proposal Still On Table For Greece -Sources –Adds Commission Decision To Abolish Task Force After Ninth Paragraph By Angelika Papamiltiadou ATHENS (MNI) – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s proposal to the Greek government is still on the table if Athens is willing to table the necessary counter measures, to offset those they reject, a top commission source told MNI Tuesday. Despite Juncker’s outburst earlier Tuesday flatly accusing the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of not telling the truth about the commission’s proposal on Greece, a top commission official said the aim of all sides is to get a sensible agreement. “If the Greek government wishes our help and tables the counter measures of the value that we have asked, then the Commission will do whatever necessary to reach an agreement with all parties involved” the source said suggesting if the EU is on board then the IMF would also be forced to agree to a solution. The top official added there is now a lot of mistrust between the Greek government and its creditors but in the end “the Greek people should not suffer.” “The Greek proposals were short in numbers despite the fact that Juncker met with Tsipras twice in the last week and was explained to the Greek premier how a deal could be reached. One example was to cut military spending by around E450 million annually but instead the Greek counter proposal was E200 million” the source added. “Juncker offered Tsipras several alternatives, in writing, to help speed up the process,” the official claimed. “But while during the meeting, both the Greek premier and his minister of state seemed willing to agree and were positive, they later announced they rejected the proposals as inhumane.” He echoed Juncker’s statements that the commission’s proposal was not presented to the Greek public correctly and pointed towards a strategy for clash on behalf of the Greek government. Another senior EU official said “everything today is at a standstill regarding Greece” adding that many officials believed Greece’s aim is to “shake up” the Eurozone in order to get the creditors to back down from their demands. “I believe their logic is that the Eurozone periphery bonds will rise sharply as we approach the June 30
