The Council of Chairperson of the Party of the European Left (EL) met last Friday in Athens, and invited Euclid Tsakalotos, Secretary of the State of International Economic Relations of the Hellenic government and coordinator of the negotiations between the government and the institutions of the troika, to explain what is the situation and the prospects for Greece.

Assuming that the problem of the negotiations is political, not technical, the Secretary of State outlined the difficulties they found and that are summed up in one: "the European partners do not have a mandate to negotiate, in the sense all of us understand as negotiating. They have a written paper with what they have to do and hence without room for manoeuver". Because of that Tsakalotos interpreted as a possibility for improvement the next Eurogroup emergency meeting this Monday, June 22, because it will be accompanied by a meeting of Presidents, which he entrusts unlock the current situation and allow an agreement.

In any case, the Secretary of State said on that agreement: "it has to be an economically sustainable deal within the Euro, because that is our mandate. Our financial proposals are very moderate". "We want to prioritize the production opposite to a cut in salaries and pensions" recalling that two thirds of Greek retirees currently live under the line of poverty according to the European parameters, as well as that the people had voted to fight against tax evasion, a measure that it would be another source of income for the country.

Today, three possibilities are at stake for the negotiation conclusions: rupture, exchange of money for reforms or change in attitude.

In the case they only will give us the solution of the memorandum, we could not fulfil the people mandate and that should be discussed with the Greeks in a popular consultation, either in the form of referendum or elections. But Tsakalotos trusts the opportunity of an honourable agreement.

It also reported the difference of requirements imposed by the IMF and the European Commission. On the one hand, the IMF relaxes its stance regarding the economic part of the debt but demonstrates intransigence in the implementation of austerity measures.

On the other hand, Merkel believes that there is no need to drown to Greece with more austerity policies, but she demonstrates intransigence in the economic part.

The result, as the coordinator of the negotiations explained, is that they put together the worse of the two positions: they want Greece to apply more austerity measures against who voted for Syriza and also to pay the debt within the time limits, whose amounts and form they impose.