Greece struggling to convince creditors to release cash

Eurozone finance ministers told Greece on Monday to deliver overdue reforms in order to unlock two billion euros from its bailout as tensions resurfaced just months after Athens narrowly avoided a euro exit.

“It is on Greece to implement what we agreed in July and August”, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said before the meeting on Monday.

Though the left-wing Greek government, re-elected in September, has been praised for its recent economic reform efforts, Dijsselbloem said a few issues still needed to be dealt with before the money can be released.

“We are not yet completely there but I’m hopeful and confident that with the spirit of compromise that we have, with the good cooperation with the authorities, we can make it – if not today in the days to come”, he said. The ministers said in a document, “We stand ready to support the disbursement of the 2 billion euros sub-tranche linked to the first set of milestones and the transfer to the HFSF of the funds needed for the recapitalization of the Greek banking sector out of the 10 billion euros earmarked for this objective, provided that the agreed conditionality is met”.

Klaus Regling, the head of the European Stability Mechanism, the institution that actually pays out the bailout cash, said the smaller capital shortfall means Greece’s latest rescue will “very likely” be less than the up-to-86 billion euros initially foreseen.

The government’s top priority at the moment was to conclude talks on thorny issues such as the management of nonperforming loans and auctions of houses by the weekend, Tsipras said, according to the sources.

Once the outstanding reforms have been implemented, this will also pave the way for discussions on the sustainability of Greece’s public debt.

For example in the key issue of home foreclosures Athens initially pushed for the protection of more than 75 percent of indebted homeowners, while creditors requested stricter criteria which would result in the protection of less than 50 percent of people concerned.

In comments to reporters after the summit, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said despite “some delay”, most officials were pleased with Greece’s progress.

To qualify for its next bailout tranche, Greece must meet an initial catalogue of 48 reform commitments.

Greece is at loggerheads – again – with European creditors over its bailout promises.