Supporters wave flags at a rally for the Coalition of the Radical Left or Syriza Party in Greece (Valencia Plaza)
The newly elected government in Greece wants the EU to cancel more than half of the country’s debt.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already denied the request.
The BBC reported:
Greece’s new left-wing finance minister says his government will not negotiate over the Greek bailout conditions with the “troika” team from the EU and IMF.
Yanis Varoufakis said he was rather seeking direct talks with eurozone leaders, to try to cancel more than half the money Greece owes.
He was speaking after meeting Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the eurozone group of finance ministers, in Athens.
Mr Dijsselbloem said Greece should stick to its reform commitments.
He said Greece and the Eurogroup had a “mutual interest in the further recovery of the Greek economy inside the eurozone” and warned against Athens acting unilaterally in its efforts to renegotiate its bailout.
Greece has endured tough budget cuts in return for its €240bn (£179bn; $270bn) bailout, agreed in 2010 with the “troika” – the European Commission, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB).
Greece’s government bonds and stock market plunged in the week after the election of the far-left Syriza.
This won’t end well.