Greek official says German stance obstacle to compromise between Greece, creditors

A Greek official spoke on conditions of anonymity a few hours after the country formally submitted a request for a six-month extension of the four-year bailout loan agreement to the Euro Working Group in Brussels that Germany's stance was the obstacle to a compromise for the formula of cooperation between Greece's new Left-led government and European partners after the current bailout expires on Feb. 28.

After lengthy consultations between the two sides in recent days, Athens tabled a letter requesting the extension of the loan agreement instead of respecting the bailout program as creditors had asked.

The ruling SYRIZA party was elected in January this year on an anti-bailout agenda and Greek ministers said on Thursday that the text does not move away from the Greek position, the government did not ask for an extension to the bailout memorandum.

According to Greek media reports about the content of the proposal, the government insisted on the implementation of measures to "heal the deep wounds" caused to Greek society by harsh austerity as a priority.

However, opposition parties and political analysts in Athens saw that under the lenders' pressure there had been a "softening" of previous rhetoric over unilateral actions to reverse bailout policies and a shift from the party's pre-election promises.

Conservative main opposition New Democracy (ND) party spokesman Kostas Karagounis accused the government of playing with words, noting that in the end it chose the wording that was used by the ND-led government as well.

The request for the extension of the "Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement" was nothing less than the request for the extension of the memorandum and the program together, Evangelos Venizelos, the socialist former deputy prime minister added.

According to information on the content of the Greek proposal, Athens promised to meet financial obligations to creditors and agreed to the supervision of the Greek economy by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund until it negotiates a final contract with creditors on the sustainability of the Greek debt burden.

However, the wording of Thursday's text seemed not to satisfy all counterparts.

In first reactions, the European Commission (EC) commented that the Greek request was a "first positive sign," but the German finance ministry stressed that the Greek letter "was not a proposal for a substantial solution."

Berlin and other counterparts insist that Athens stick to the fiscal adjustment and reform path in exchange for further aid. Without a deal, the country faces the danger of bankruptcy and exit from the euro zone.

Greek Deputy Minister Yiannis Dragassakis expressed optimism for the result speaking to Greek media on Thursday, stressing that "in case of a rejection, everybody should assume their share of responsibility." Enditem