EU/Athens standoff fuels possibility of Greek default

Reuters
February 10, 2012

In the marathon tennis match that is the Greek debt crisis, the ball is firmly back in Athens' court and the consensus that a bailout deal will eventually be done is starting to fray a little.

After a 'deal' was struck among Greek political leaders on Thursday, euro zone finance ministers in Brussels took one look at Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos' figures and promptly told him to go back to Athens and do more.

With trust and goodwill in increasingly short supply, Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup, laid down three demands: a further 325 million euros in spending cuts, approval of the package by the Greek parliament, and a written commitment from the leaders of Greece's parties that they would stick to the deal beyond April elections.

"In short, no disbursement before implementation," he said after six hours of talks that diplomats described as pointed.

The immediate concern is that the Greek parliament, which will debate the package on Sunday, could turn it down, reflecting the rising anger of voters, the fact strikes are crippling the nation and political will is rapidly waning.

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