Greece must immediately adopt some of the reforms demanded by its creditors if it is to receive access to emergency funds in the face of a March cash crunch, the eurozone’s chief negotiator has warned.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who leads the Greek talks as chairman of the eurozone finance ministers’ group, told the Financial Times that he was prepared to make a “first disbursement” of the €7.2bn remaining in Athens’ €172bn bailout as early as this month. But the funds would be transferred only if the Greece, which has resisted implementing measures in the existing bailout after campaigning to kill the programme, adopted reforms the two sides could quickly agree on.
“My message to the Greeks is: try to start the programme even before the whole renegotiation is finished,” Mr Dijsselbloem said. “There are elements that you can start doing today. If you do that, then somewhere in March, maybe there can be a first disbursement. But that would require progress and not just intentions.”