Greece accused of “wasting time” as latest proposals fail to satisfy Eurozone officials

On Friday, Yanis Varoufakis sent a letter to ministers explaining seven planned measures, but Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem has since described the proposals as “far from complete”. He said that given the way things are currently going, it would be very difficult for Greece to complete the reform programme during the four-month extension period given. 

 

In order to unlock frozen bailout money, the troubled nation must satisfy the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, together known as the Troika. If it is unable to do so before the end of this month, there is a high chance that Greece will run out of money.

 

Dijsselbloem called on Greece to “stop wasting time and really start talks seriously”, saying not enough has been done in terms of implementation of plans since the last Eurogroup meeting. He said it was time for Athens to engage in "serious conversations with the troika". 

 

Athens has confirmed it would be ready to add more measures, including ones to combat tax avoidance. A Greek official also said the country has enough money to pay the second of four €310m (£2.15m) loan instalments due to the IMF on 13 March. Two further payments are scheduled for 16 and 20 March.