The reform plans and growth predictions that were distributed to Greece’s partners within the Eurozone by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis are troubling the officials involved in the discussions between Greece and its international lenders, reported Wall Street Journal. The officials claim that the documents contained significant differences compared to what had been discussed in Brussels and show that Varoufakis is still complicating the process of reaching a final agreement. “The 36-page document, entitled “Greece’s recovery: A blueprint” and seen by the Wall Street Journal, was presented by Mr. Varoufakis to his counterparts in Paris and Rome, as well as senior officials in Brussels while touring European capitals over the last week, according to four European officials,” noted the newspaper. The 36-page document focuses on the Greek economy’s future and how Greece will be able to return to growth. “Perhaps it is time to visualize a recovering Greece before we unlock the present impasse,” noted the document. “While some of the reforms the document outlines are the same ones agreed in the ongoing negotiations — such as the creation of a fully independent tax commissioner — the paper also differs in several areas from what is currently being discussed between technical experts representing Greece and the institutions overseeing its bailout,” wrote Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, the document predicts Greece’s economy will grow just 0.1% this year, below the 0.5% forecast this week by the European Commission. In the talks in Brussels, Greek officials have been pushing for a higher growth estimate than the one published by the commission, according to the article. “The problem is that Varoufakis doesn’t seem totally in line with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras,” said another official. However, the Greek Finance Ministry released an official statement as a response to the Wall Street Journal article, speaking about leaks that are systematically aiming to distort the Greek positions.
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