The fate of the Greek economy is being decided in Brussels

As it turns out, today’s Eurogroup on the fate of Greece will take place in the presence of PM Lucas Papademos, in a last effort by all parties involved to find a permanent and sustainable solution to the Greek debt.

After the consultations that continued throughout the weekend, and with the Greek government working up to the last minute to convey the necessary commitments of the Greek side, both in the Greek camp and at the European level, there is cautious optimism about the outcome of the Eurogroup despite the several issues that remain unresolved.

These are also the issues that will be extensively discussed during the meeting of European ministers: the increased control concerning compliance with the program after the disbursement of the new aid package, the establishment of a special account to pay off the Greek debt and above all, the sustainability of the Greek debt. And this will perhaps be the major topic of discussion, as even up to the last minute there were doubts about whether it will be possible to reduce the Greek debt to 120% of the GDP by 2020, even after the new rescue effort for our country.

Regarding this matter, a leak from the German economic team to the German media on Sunday stirred some commotion.

It was the article in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, republished by the Dow Jones Newswires agency, according to which the German Economy ministry is concerned about how Greece is managing the help it is given. Citing an internal document of the ministry, the newspaper mentions that Merkel’s staff is disappointed by how Greece has so far distributed the help to boost its economy and competitiveness, with the authors noting that "enhancing competitiveness is obviously not a priority for the Greek government." They are requesting the German side to ensure that the Greek government will have "better cooperation with the EU working group as a condition to release the second rescue package of Greece."

Meanwhile a British newspaper, "The Telegraph", notes that the approval of the new loan support to Greece is anything but a given in today's Eurogroup. The story is entitled "Germany’s plans for Greece’s exit from the euro," and refers to the intense opposition by German Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble - concerns shared by the satellite countries of Germany - whether the Greek government can implement its commitments, and whether the new painful sacrifices of the Greek people are sufficient to pull Greece off the cliff.

The newspaper cites German government sources to reveal that the dominant scenario in Berlin is that of the "exhortation" to the Greek government to declare default and start direct negotiations with its creditors for further debt cuts.

However, despite these voices, Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker said that the presence of the Greek PM in the council of ministers is "welcomed", while sources from Brussels stressed that Papademos will meet with institutional players and might personally undertake the final negotiations for the new package of 130 billion and the PSI. And they added with meaning that Papademos is in Brussels to ensure that the agreement will be closed without "any asterisks."