Germany rejects Greek loan request as "not substantial"

Greek bailout

Germany has rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its eurozone loan programme, after earlier signs that a compromise was possible.

Greek had sought a six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal which comes with tough austerity conditions.

But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was "not a substantial proposal for a solution".

The European Commission had earlier called the Greek request "positive".

"[European Commission] President Juncker sees this letter as a positive sign, which, in his assessment, could pave the way for a reasonable compromise in the interest of the financial stability in the euro area as a whole," Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas had told a news briefing.

"The detailed assessment of the [Greek loan] letter and the response is now up to the eurogroup," he said, referring to a Friday meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels, which will discuss the Greek proposal.

'Blackmail'

But just minutes later Mr Schaeuble said the Greek request was an attempt at "bridge financing, without meeting the requirements of the programme. The letter does not meet the criteria agreed upon in the eurogroup on Monday".

The Greek request letter includes a pledge to maintain "fiscal balance" for a six-month period, while it negotiates with eurozone partners over long-term growth and debt reduction, Reuters has reported.

The Greek government was also reported as saying that its extension proposal was in order to give Athens enough time, without the threat of "blackmail and time deficits", to draw up a new agreement with Europe for growth over the next four years.

Greece faces running out of money by the end of the month without a deal.

The loan request follows days of negotiations between eurozone finance ministers and Greek government's anti-austerity Syriza party.

How the German papers see the Greek negotiations:

Popular tabloid Bild has a full page spread featuring pictures of Vladimir Putin and Alexis Tsipras with the headline: "The Russian or the Greek: who is more dangerous for us?" Underneath it says: "Europe is in the most difficult crisis it's seen for decades -- because two heads of government are aggressively demonstrating their power."

A commentary in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says: "The Greek government appears to believe it can treat its partners like fools," accusing the Greek government of using Brussels like a stage for theatrics, adding that many people have simply had enough.

And the business paper Handelsblatt says the request for a loan extension changes very little. "It remains unclear whether Athens is willing to meet the conditions set by its creditors." And that, the paper says is crucial for the meeting of European finance ministers on Friday.

The president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, confirmed through his twitter account that the request had been received.

On Monday night, Greece rejected a plan to extend its €240bn (£178bn) bailout, describing it as "absurd".

The eurozone element of Greece's EU-IMF bailout ends on 28 February.

Greece also needs to find 11.9bn euros ($13.5bn) for bond repayments by August.

The new government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wants to reverse many of the financial obligations imposed as part of the post-2010 EU-IMF rescue packages.

The administration has halted privatisations and promised to increase wages and roll back labour market reforms.

What do you think about the proposal for a loan extension? Do you think Greece is right to reject the bailout offer? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk bbc

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Thursday, February 19, 2015