Greece Confident of Reaching an Agreement with EU

Greece said on Sunday it was confident of reaching agreement in negotiations with its euro zone partners but reiterated it would not accept harsh austerity strings in any debt pact.  A day before a euro zone finance ministers’ meeting in Brussels to shore up Greece’s dwindling finances and help keep it in the euro zone, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Germany’s Stern magazine that Athens needed time to implement its reforms and shake off the mismanagement of the past.

“I expect difficult negotiations; nevertheless I am full of confidence,” he said. “I promise you: Greece will then, in six months’ time, be a completely different country.”  The Eurogroup of finance ministers meets in Brussels on Monday to try to find common ground with Tsipras’ new government, elected on a pledge to scrap the austerity strictures of Greece’s international bailouts, on issues such as debt management, financing, privatization and labor reform.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker held a phone conversation on Sunday with Tsipras at the Greek prime minister’s request, an EU official said, speaking on condition of anonymity and providing no details.  “President Juncker is making a last effort in an extremely difficult situation,” the official said, playing down hopes for an agreement at Monday’s meeting.

Reuters

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