Euro Area Pushes Greece to Open Books as Talks Resume

Bloomberg
March 9, 2015

European finance ministers piled pressure on Greece to open its books and follow through with pledges agreed to in its rescue package, as the country tries to avoid running out of cash as soon as this month.

Greece will resume talks with its creditors in Brussels on Wednesday, alongside technical talks in Athens to comb through data. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Greece will make “all necessary” data available.

As Greek officials struggle to meet the euro area’s demands, the government’s cash supplies are running low. One official from the currency bloc, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said on Monday that Greece’s funding might last for one, two or three weeks, though it was difficult to be precise.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi took a personal hand in persuading Greece to allow new visits from technical experts, according to two officials familiar with Monday’s talks. After the meeting, Varoufakis -- who described Draghi as “a very skilled central banker” -- said he was confident negotiations would resume in good faith.

“I believe that we are doing our job properly and they will do their job,” Varoufakis told reporters in Brussels. “Our job is to start the process which is necessary for the European Central Bank to have confidence.”

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