France’s Finance Minister Michel Sapin warned Athens against any attempt to play Paris off against Berlin over Greece’s debt crisis, saying a Franco-German agreement is key to striking a deal that would help Greeks and ensure they meet their commitments, according to Reuters. Greece’s demand for time to negotiate a “new deal” with its EU peers is reasonable as long as it comes up quickly with the basis for a reform plan that can be gradually beefed up, Sapin told Reuters in an interview, a day after he met Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. The new Greek government must start by offering commitments to the European Central Bank (ECB) to ensure its banks keep getting liquidity, Sapin said at the Reuters Euro Zone Summit. “There is no point in playing Eurozone countries against each other, and especially not France and Germany” Sapin underlined, adding that there needs to be “a solution that helps Greece while making sure it meets its commitments that will have to go through an agreement between France and Germany.” Sapin said he never had closer contact than now with his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, “to avoid any misunderstanding or tensions.” “These are things that we must explain in a friendly way and that Greek authorities can understand,” he said. Paris and Berlin do not agree on all aspects, however. While Germany has said it sees no reason to scrap the EU/ECB/IMF Troika of inspectors who oversee compliance with bailout agreements, which the new Greek government rejects, Sapin said new tools with new names could be put in place. That is one of the issues that needs to be discussed, he added. Sapin noted Greece will not get a free ride. Athens says it does not want an extension of its 240-billion-euro bailout when it expires on February 28 and has asked for one month to come up with proposals and further time to strike a deal. “That timetable seems reasonable if there is a minimal political framework that is gradually spelled out,” he said. “The ECB and European partners cannot give without anything in return.” The first step would be a deal with the ECB on liquidity assistance, after which Greece would need to either accept a prolongation of its existing deal with its EU partners or strike a new one on a new program, Sapin said. While France has opened the door to allow Athens more time to repay its debt, Sapin reaffirmed his opposition to any debt cancellation: “There will be no haircut.” Sapin welcomed the Greek government’s commitment to a negotiated deal with its EU partners. But after a hectic first week, during which Ministers said they would cancel some privatization plans, he urged Athens to be careful not to spook foreign investors it will need to get back to growth. Sapin played down a comment by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne that a standoff between Greece and the Eurozone over Greek debt was fast becoming the biggest risk to the global economy. The Eurozone is now much better equipped to deal with such issues than when the Greek debt crisis began five years ago, Sapin said, adding that Osborne “has not quite perceived all the changes that have taken place since then in the Eurozone.” (source: ana-mpa)
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