In statements to German reporters on Tuesday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that the Eurogroup statement on Greece did not hail the progress made in the substance of the negotiations between Athens and the institutions as much as the progress in the working procedures. “On the issues, progress in the talks is not comparable to the improvement in the climate,” he said. According to the German Finance Minister, in regards to the substance of the talks, a lot of time had been wasted without anything getting done. He also noted that the Greek Ministers’ insistence on talking only to Ministers and not technical teams created a problem. Asked to comment on the progress made on the privatizations issue, Schaeuble said the Greek government had simply corrected a “back-tracking.” Regarding the possibility that Greek loans might be released in small installments, Schaeuble stressed that if the Eurogroup makes such a decision, it must ask for the German Parliament’s approval. (source: ana-mpa)