Talks with creditors for third Greek bailout begin

If the talks are not completed in time, European authorities may have to provide further temporary financing as they did with a July bridge loan, though Avgi said that possibility had not been discussed with lenders.

“As you can understand, there was convergence on a few points, and less convergence on others, ” he said.

And without the International Monetary Fund, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would find it hard to mobilize the internal unity needed for the successful implementation of unpopular domestic economic reforms, including those that cross the his party’s “red lines”. Senior EU-IMF auditors yesterday held their first meetings with Greek ministers to finalise a new three-year bailout as the Athens stock market prepares to reopen after being shut down for over a month by the debt crisis.

The talks with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis follow preparatory meetings in the Greek capital this week between lower-level officials on reforming the tax system and labor market regulations.

Greece is due to make a massive €3.4 billion repayment to the European Central Bank by 20 August, and the IMF’s decision to avoid getting involved immediately has rendered it increasingly unlikely that Greece will meet this deadline. Opposition parties have also called for the former Essex University economist to have his parliamentary immunity from criminal charges revoked over his role in the clandestine plans.

Tsakalotos stated the talks are targeted on tips on how to recapitalize Greece’s battered banking system, whose deposit base was badly hit in current months as Greeks fearing a euro exit emptied their accounts.

The vote could precede an extraordinary party congress in September, when the Greek government hopes to have concluded the rescue agreement, strengthening Tsipras’ hold on power. He added that “the absurdity of this unusual and unprecedented dualism” inside the social gathering should cease.

Also on Friday, Mr Tsipras is due to appear in parliament to answer questions from the opposition about contingency plans to adopt a parallel payment system that could have facilitated a euro exit.

“I personally gave the order to prepare a team to prepare a defence plan in case of emergency”, said Mr Tsipras, who compared Greece’s position with being on a war footing. “It might have been politically naive and irresponsible not to take action”.

“Nobody in the euro countries was unprepared for this”, said Sipilä.

Tsipras did not directly address Varoufakis more controversial claim that he had been planning to hack into his own ministrys tax records to bypass officials allegedly under the control of Greeces creditors.

The members of the hardline Left Platform faction – led by former Energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis – wants to block the government from agreeing a third bailout now. “You can blame him as much as you want for his political plan, his statements, for his taste in shirts, for vacations in Aegina”, Tsipras said.

“We are telling the Greek people, loud and clear and with no remorse, that this is the deal we managed to bring to them and if there is someone who thinks that they could have achieved a better deal, let them come out and say that”, he told the session that included dissenters like parliament speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou.