Teleconference instead of Eurogroup for the “Greek problem”

At a critical juncture for the Greek issue, the European finance ministers will be limited to a video conference instead of a meeting, with any delays seeming - and being - even devastating for the debt restructure, the adoption of the new loan agreement and the rescue of the country.

The postponement of the meeting for next Monday, February 20, via Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker, was caused – according to Brussels – by the fact that Greece has thus far not fulfilled all the conditions required by the Europeans. That is, they have not received the assurances sought from their political leaders, while obviously they are not convinced about the ways to bridge the gap of 325 million euros by the overall analysis of debt sustainability.

Answers were partly given in yesterday's Cabinet meeting and are expected to be analyzed further in today's teleconference scheduled for 6 pm.

What Jean-Claude Juncker tried to convey in a statement is a cautious approach to the whole issue, saying Greece and the Troika need more time for a permanent solution to issues upon which their the Germans and their satellite countries are to hold a tough stance towards Greece, and have reached the point of raising the issue of Greece’s expulsion from the euro in case of failure of the extremely tight reform schedule required by Berlin.

As a European official seems to have said on Dow Jones Newswires, they are not expected to make important decisions in today's teleconference, adding that some European governments are determined "not to leave the Greek political leaders any room to escape the strict requirements of the program."

One example of this attitude is the interview by Bundesbank leader and member of the ECB governing council Jens Weidmann on the Ηandelsblatt newspaper, stressing that while the Greek parliament took ​​ an important step on Sunday, "what matters in the end is the implementation of the measures."

Meanwhile, government officials in Athens said that the Eurogroup teleconference will nevertheless touch upon the issue of the PSI «to intensify pressure on the bondholders."