As bailout talks drag, gov’t says might not sign EU Rome treaty
With Greece's international creditors indicating that insufficient progress has been achieved for bailout monitors to return to Athens, government sources have threatened to block the Rome Declaration, Kathimerini understands, connecting it to the negotiations on the second review.
According to sources, the Greek official participating in preparatory talks ahead of the drafting of a common statement that EU leaders are expected to sign at a summit in Rome on Saturday, regarding the bloc's common values and principles, told his interlocutors that Greece cannot agree to such a text while being pressed to implement unrealistic demands of the International Monetary Fund.
Sources said that Greek officials aim to ensure that the joint declaration includes a paragraph referring to European regulations protecting citizens' labor rights.
It is the issue of labor rights – and the IMF's demands for further liberalization of the sector – that has become the major sticking point in talks between Greece and its lenders.
On Monday, finance ministers discussing Greek bailout negotiations deemed that inadequate progress had been achieved for foreign auditors to return to Athens.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos commented that he and other Greek ministers would remain in Brussels for further negotiations in a bid to establish enough common ground for bailout monitors to return to the Greek capital and resume talks.
