European Commission calls new Greek debt proposal inadequate

The European Commission, or EC, said on Wednesday that the latest proposal submitted by Greece did not reflect what Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the European Commission president JeanClaude Juncker discussed in their meeting last Wednesday nor what creditors conveyed to Athens.

“Technical work continues in order to try to bridge the differences between the different positions and to create conditions for unanimous agreement between all 19 members of the Eurozone,” EC spokesman Margaritis Schinas said during the body’s daily briefing.

“For this final push the commission is clearly of the view that the ball is in the court of the Greek government,” which must to align with the understanding made with Juncker last Wednesday, the spokesman added.

Schinas also recalled that the commissioner for Financial and Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici told representatives from the Greek government on Tuesday afternoon that the “latest suggestions do not reflect the state of discussions between president Juncker and Prime Minister Tsipras, and those between commissioner Moscovici himself and Greek government representatives Monday afternoon.”

When asked if Juncker refused to meet with Tsipras again on Wendesday in Brussels, the spokesman responded that the only direct engagement for Juncker was to participate in the summit of EU leaders and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC.

Meanwhile, Tsipras arrived at the summit without making any statement.

Despite the differences, EC vice president of the Euro and the Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, said on Tuesday that a swift agreement with Greece would still be possible, but urged the Greek authorities to exert political will and work less on” technical maneuvers.”