By Yann Le Guernigou and Costas Pitas PARIS / ATHENS (Reuters) – Debt-laden Greece and Germany, financier of the European Union, hardline positions held before a crucial meeting of finance ministers of the Eurozone on Monday on the future of unpopular international bailout Athens, but France called compromise. The German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, maintained his usual tough tone, telling a German radio station that Greece had lived beyond their means for a long time and that in Europe there was like giving more money without collateral . The French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, indicated a slight easing in opposition to the euro zone Greek requests to end austerity and reach a new debt deal, saying that Europe must respect the political change in Athens. The government of Prime Minister radical left, Alexis Tsipras was elected last month with a promise to scrap the rescue, reversing the austerity measures and end the supervision of the hated “troika” of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Members of Greece in the euro zone have so far shown little desire to reduce the austerity required to Athens in return for a final financial aid for about 240,000 million euros (274,000 million). If Monday’s meeting ends without progress, Greece could be routed to a credit crunch could force her to lea ve the eurozone. A breakthrough, meanwhile, could lead to more negotiations, perhaps later this week. The Greek government spokesman, Gabriel Sakellaridis, gave no sign that Athens will retract their main demands. “The Greek government is determined to fulfill its commitments to the public (…) no longer continue a program that has the characteristics of previous bailout agreement,” he said. Continued …
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