Valdis

Greece has had to go through tougher austerity than it would have otherwise been necessary, because of the populist stance of the left-wing government of Alexis Tsipras in 2015, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday.

European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner of Euro matters Valdis Dombrovskis revealed that Greece and its lenders were close to reaching a deal ‘on principle’, responding to a question asked by protothema.gr in Brussels.

In an interview rot Wall Street Journal (WSJ), European Commissioner for the Euro Valdis Dombrovskis said that an agreement with a successful review of the Greek program was feasible within the next weeks. Dombrovskis pointed out the Commission had not set a deadline for an agreement. ‘It really is about the substance’, he underlined.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Greece has to fulfill its financial obligations by passing all the prerequisite economic measures outlined in the agreed bailout plan, despite the refugee crisis. Dombrovskis called on the Greek government to push forward with reforms in the pensions, taxation and privatisations in order to allow the assessment to be completed.

The meeting between Bank of Greece (BoG) governor Yannis Stournaras and European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis took place on Tuesday.

Stournaras and Dombrovskis underlined that the bank recapitalizations need to be completed by the end of the year.

The Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, said no three times to the Greek government during their meeting, while he said nothing about the disbursement of the 2 bln tranche, even though last week he had said that Athens will receive the money.

The Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis will visit Athens on October 27-28 and have a series of meetings.

According to the program announced by European Commission Representation in Greece, Mr. Dombrovskis will meet with Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis on Monday, at 09:30 and with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, at 10:30.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis called for EU partners to reach a common solution for the refugee crisis. Speaking to German newspaper Rheinische Post, the Latvian politician said that a common method of dealing with the ‘ordeal’ Europe was going through, as he dubbed the refugee crisis, had to be reached as soon as possible.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday that he does not expect an agreement in technical talks with Greece in April. He estimates that debt negotiations could run until next month beyond the April 30 deadline for a deal, says Reuters.

Greek government officials are returning to work on Tuesday after the Orthodox Easter break to face the daily grind of negotiations to unlock financing and keep the country afloat.