According to media reports, Eurozone finance ministers have demanded deeper reforms from Greece in exchange for opening talks on a third bailout to Athens. This confirms the earlier observations made by analysts that EU member states such as Germany and the Netherlands are increasingly opposed towards the latest Greek proposals. This was clearly demonstrated in the minutes prior to the start of the Eurogroup as eurozone finance ministers arrived to the meeting. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that “extraordinarily difficult negotiations” were lying ahead as trust has been destroyed in an “incredible manner” in the past months. In a similar fashion, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem expressed expectations for a difficult meeting, pointing to the issue of trust as going to be vital in determining whether to grant further bailout. Overall, the tone of the finance ministers was that the Greek government has made a progress with its latest proposals, but it remained questionable whether Athens could be trusted in implementing the reforms. There were even rumours that the German finance ministry has proposed a temporary exit of Greece from the eurozone for at least five years and restructuring of its debt. Earlier on Saturday, the Greek parliament overwhelmingly approved the latest reform proposals, which the government in Athens submitted to the creditors late on Thursday. The latest package is similar to the one, which creditors had suggested to Greece on June 26, but was convincingly rejected by Greek voters in the July 5 referendum. The meeting of the Eurogroup has been paused for dinner after three hours of talks and is expected to continue later on Saturday evening, the Guardian reports.
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