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'50-50 chance' of a Greek bailout deal

July 11, 2015

Greek negotiators have headed to Brussels to discuss their latest bailout proposal with international creditors. Difficult talks are ahead as the chances of Greece securing a new package are '50-50,' says an EU diplomat.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FxBu
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a session of the ruling Syriza's leftist party parliamentary group at the Parliament building in Athens, Greece July 10, 2015 (Photo: REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier)
Image: Reuters/J.-P. Pelissier

The European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund confirmed Saturday that new proposals from Greece's leftist government would be the basis for the latest negotiations.

"The institutions have made a first joint assessment of the Greek reform proposals submitted Thursday night. Under certain conditions, they jointly see the proposals as a basis for negotiating a European Stability Mechanism (EMS) program," an unnamed EU official told the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

Eurozone finance ministers are meeting Saturday in Brussels to decide on Athens' request for financial help totalling $91 billion (82 billion euros) over the next three years.

"This is a considerable bailout sum – that is why we expect difficult negotiations," an EU diplomat told the DPA news agency on condition of anonymity. "The chances are 50-50,"he added.

Greek parliament approves proposals

Earlier on Saturday, the Greek parliament passed a motion allowing proposals submitted to Greece's creditors to be used as the basis for negotiations on a new bailout program.

In a statement issued through the night, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the support of lawmakers gave him a "strong mandate to complete the negotiations to reach an economically viable and socially fair agreement."

He acknowledged that the proposals submitted to creditors were "far from our pledges" made during his anti-austerity election campaign, but added that they were "marginally better" than proposals put forth by creditors prior to the referendum on July 5.

But Martin Jäger, spokesperson for Germany's finance minister, said Friday it was not enough to "present the June proposals in a new packaging."

Germany has been the biggest contributor to two previous bailout packages worth 240 billion euros to Greece since 2010.

shs/jlw (dpa, Reuters, AP)