Despite the fact that the Greek government makes optimistic announcements about an upcoming deal with creditors, European Union officials in Brussels say there are still many differences on the negotiation table. According to Brussels sources, there is even talk that the Greek government leaks about a pending deal generate suspicions of inside trading, since there are significant fluctuations in international stock exchanges. The Athens Stock Exchange went up 3.55% yesterday after several government officials announced that the deal may be signed as soon as this weekend. However, Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission for the Euro and Social Dialogue, who oversees negotiations, said on Wednesday that there are still several differences. Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, reiterated that there several points on which the two sides need to converge. The same sources said that EC officials do not understand where the Greek optimism stems from, when the official position of the EC is that there are no partial agreements but a comprehensive agreement that will encompass all the points of the fifth review. At the same time, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told Reuters on Wednesday that Greece must make greater efforts if it wants to reach an agreement with creditors. “They have to really put in more effort to make this the final stretch,” Djisselbloem said on the sidelines of a finance chiefs meeting from the Group of Seven industrial nations (G7) in Dresden, Germany. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble doused Greece’s optimism while talking to Germany’s ARD television: “We’ve been hearing a lot of positive news from Greece – and that’s good – but in essence, the negotiations have not progressed much,” he said.
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