There is no way we can reach an agreement with creditors before June and a political solution is the only way, said General Secretary of Fiscal Policy Nikos Theocharakis. Theocharakis, who is the head of the Greek negotiating team, described the last two days of negotiations with the creditors’ technical team (Tuesday-Wednesday) as not having a positive outcome. The cycle of talks that started on Saturday in Paris, ended on Wednesday with no results. The general secretary said that negotiations still have a long way to go. The two sides cannot agree on a technical level as there are discrepancies in the numbers the Greek side is presenting. The numbers gap is wide, Theocharakis said, but there is also a political gap between Greece and creditors. “There are a few differences on a technical level, but I believe these differences can be bridged. From then on it becomes a political issue and it doesn’t have to do with the Brussels Group (the creditors’ technical representatives) but with relations between the Greek government and lenders,” Theocharakis said on Mega television. The “thorny” issues in negotiations proved to be insurance and labor laws. Creditors, and especially the International Monetary Fund, ask for reduction of minimum pensions. Also there is no agreement on the creation of a bank that will take all “bad loans” or if the 10 billion euros from the European Financial Stability Facility will go to a new recapitalization of Greek banks. There was some progress on budgetary issues, however the creditors’ representatives showed distrust on whether the Greek government will succeed in implementing certain measures and reforms. The members of the Greek negotiating team are now scattered; some returned to Athens, others headed to Latvia for Friday’s Eurogroup, some went to join the prime minister’s team who will be in Thursday’s summit in Brussels, while others reportedly remained in Paris in case they receive orders to continue talks. On Thursday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will be in the European Union summit where the issue of refugees will be discussed. Tsipras will have a sidelines meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk about Greece’s bailout.
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