Juncker calls on European states to show solidarity with Greece

in Brussels DEREK SCALLY in Berlin

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker struck a conciliatory tone with Greece yesterday, as Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis suggested that Athens may be prepared to suspend some of its campaign promises until April as it works on a new reform package with lenders.

Speaking alongside Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras in Brussels, Mr Juncker urged Europe to show solidarity with Greece. He said that an agreement could still be reached, despite warnings from Berlin about a possible Greek exit.

“I’m totally excluding a failure,” Mr Juncker said ahead of talks with Mr Tsipras. “This is not a time for division. This is the time for coming together.”

His upbeat comments come a day after Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, said Greece’s EU partners no longer know what the country wants in the euro zone, and therefore could no longer rule out its exit.

On its own

In unusually blunt language, Dr Schäuble told Austrian broadcaster ORF that Greek mixed messages and lack of detailed reforms had brought Athens to a place where its partners could no longer assist.

He said that Athens was the master of its own destiny, and it was no longer unlikely that it could trigger an accidental exit – a so-called “Graccident.”

However, speaking in Berlin, Dr Schäuble’s spokesman hurried to clarify that the minister saw the Greek debt problem as solvable, but added: “It’s Greece’s move to meet its reform obligations as agreed.”

Dr Schäuble’s comments come as a new survey suggests that Germans no longer believe Greece has a future in the currency bloc.

Some 52 per cent oppose Greece remaining in the euro, according to a poll for Germany’s ZDF broadcaster, a jump of 11 points in three weeks. The rise is mirrored by a collapse in support for a continued Greek euro membership: down 12 points to 40 per cent.

Mr Tsipras’ visit to the commission came as Greek officials commenced work this week on a new reform proposal in a bid to secure a disbursement of some €7 billion due to Athens under its second bailout.

However, as Berlin and other euro group allies demand “a successful completion of the programme,” Greece’s reform suggestions have failed to convince creditors so far.

Suspend promises

Speaking in

Italy

yesterday, Mr Varoufakis said all sides had committed to reach an agreement by April 20th, hinting for the first time that Greece might temporarily suspend some of the promises made by his party in the general election.

“If this means that, for the next few months that we have negotiations, we suspend or we delay the implementation of our [election] promises, we should do precisely that in the context to build trust with our partners,” he said.

Mr Varoufakis also said that Greece is in a position to meet its debt payment obligations and was not looking for support from outside Europe.

Greece faces a number of debt repayments, including €1.2 billion to the IMF by the end of this month, and its banks continue to depend on the European Central Bank for emergency funding. So the financial position of the exchequer remains precarious.