The Greek government is putting its hopes for liquidity on the European Central Bank after Monday’s Eurogroup statement that there is progress in negotiations between Athens and lenders. There is reserved optimism at Maximos Mansion that the statement will influence ECB to open liquidity taps for strapped-for cash Athens. A new high-level meeting will be held today between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and other key government officials to assess the situations and discuss the next day of negotiations. Sources from the Maximos Mansion say that the Greek government recognizes that time is running against Greece, but is also running against creditors. The need for negotiations to be expedited is of utmost importance. Varoufakis stressed the urgency of the situation in yesterday’s statements after the Eurogroup session. He said that ECB can make decisions on Greece independently of Eurogroup decisions. Regarding the progress in negotiations and points of disagreement between the two sides, Varoufakis said specifically that “in labor market laws we have a specific position with which the institutions (creditors) disagree.” However, he said there is convergence on the privatizations, value added tax and red loans issues. On the issue of security funds, the Greek government insists that the financially weak must be protected. However, the finance minister admitted that security funds should be rationalized and early retirements must be reduced. Regarding the question of a referendum in case Athens fails to come to an agreement with creditors, Varoufakis said that a referendum is not one of the choices of the Greek government.
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