Eurogroup: Attempt for immediate release of the 1 billion euro tranche

The Finance Minister today in Brussels without an agreement with Troika - Europeans will seek clarifications from Stournaras

The Greek government is still trying to understand the ultimate purpose of its creditors. Government officials learned from protothema.gr and declarations from Community officials that Troika changed its mind again and will eventually return to Athens on Tuesday.

The appointment was actually made for Tuesday but only after Maximos Mansion’s move to inform European Commission President Barroso about the risk of cancellation of the meeting, with whom Samaras had met a few days earlier.

The government does not hide its annoyance because Saturday evening and just before the roll call vote in parliament on the state budget, IMF from Washington and Olli Rehn’s spokesman in Brussels began saying the return of the auditors is  postponed for 2014.

Eventually, there is perhaps only one thing the government can be sure of: that on December 20 Troika will stop dealing with Greece, because their services in Washington, Brussels and Frankfurt will close for Christmas.

Stournaras will try this afternoon to reassure the finance ministers in Brussels that the prerequisites for the nearly 1 billion euros are closed. He will try to convince them that before the end of the holidays the Greek side will have closed the leftovers of the fourth quarter for the 4.2 billion euros from EU and IMF.

The uncertainties

Until then, however, Samaras and Stournaras’ appointments seem uncertain as the one today of the Greek Finance Minister in the Eurogroup meeting, to which he goes without an agreement with the Troika.

Two weeks ago Stournaras committed to having a deal before the current Eurogroup, so as not to start the Greek EU presidency with leftovers and tensions with Troika.

Again two weeks ago Samaras had a meeting with Merkel, where the only prediction made by the Chancellor on Greek themes was that "next week we will form a government" in Berlin. Even Samaras’ meeting with Barroso and the 28 EU Commissioners was almost combined with failure.

After two months of barren negotiations, observers estimate that as long as there is governmental uncertainty in Germany lenders do not intend to close any agreement with Greece.