Politics
Lack of trade-offs for Athens keep deal with creditors out of reach
The lack of progress during this weekend’s talks between Greece and the institutions has lowered hopes of an imminent deal between the various parties, leading to a staff-level agreement (SLA) being struck by the March 20 Eurogroup
Athens remains optimistic but no breakthrough in talks yet
The government continues to radiate optimism about the timely conclusion of the programme review despite the fact that the pace of talks with the institutions in Athens appears to be extremely slow.
Athens prepared to legislate measures before global deal with lenders
The Greek government appears to have relaxed its position on the legislation of new measures before a global deal with the institutions has been reached.
Tsakalotos role under scrutiny as talks become more tense
The lack of meetings between Greece and its lenders until Wednesday afternoon meant that the government’s efforts to dispel rumours of a rift between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos dominated political discussions during the course of the day.
Greece searches for balanced deal as talks get underway in Athens
There was a low-key start to the negotiations between Greece’s lenders and government officials in Athens on Tuesday.
Athens braces for return of lenders, discussion about measures
The resumption of talks between the Greek government and the institutions is just a few hours away and the coalition faces its toughest test so far as the exact nature of the measures it will have to adopt comes under public scrutiny.
Tsipras defends compromise, appears optimistic on concluding review
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took his turn on Friday to defend the concessions his government made to Greece’s lenders, insisting that it represents an “honourable compromise” and displaying optimism that it will lead to the conclusion of the review.
Tsakalotos appears but gives little away about negotiations with creditors
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos admitted in Parliament on Thursday that there would be “winners and losers” from any agreement the government reaches with its lenders on the measures and counter-measures needed to conclude the review but did not provide further details.
Cyprus talks take a buffeting as leaders fall out
The climate between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders deteriorated dramatically last Wednesday when a meeting was cancelled after Mustafa Akinci refused to attend. Akinci also cancelled this week's meeting and decided to attend the Islamic Conference next week, leaving no room for the United Nations to take new initiatives to host another meeting of the two leaders in the coming days.
Effort begins to secure SYRIZA support for deal with institutions
The government’s efforts to lay to rest any concerns within the coalition about the agreement with Greece’s lenders began in earnest on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos addressed SYRIZA’s political committee.