13 Feb 2015
Was an agreement reached with Eurogroup? - Rabobank
FXStreet (Guatemala) - Analyst at Rabobank explained that Greece’s evident willingness to compromise clearly shows an understanding of the serious consequences of intransigence.
Key Quotes:
"This flexibility is also reflected in the fact that the Eurogroup meeting, which was widely expected to prove fruitless, did result in a common statement being drafted. In fact, the meeting participants believed an agreement had been reached which is why some reportedly left the meeting once this draft had been prepared (including German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble)."
"In the event, consultation on the part of the Greek negotiators with Athens resulted in the draft being blocked due to objections regarding its wording. If this is a correct reporting of the events, then it demonstrates that the substance of an agreement had already been agreed but that its semantic couching proved the stumbling block."
"We would also add that for political face-saving purposes, it is entirely possible the Greek government felt duty bound to defer reaching a compromise at this “early” stage so as to not be seen to have conceded too readily."
Key Quotes:
"This flexibility is also reflected in the fact that the Eurogroup meeting, which was widely expected to prove fruitless, did result in a common statement being drafted. In fact, the meeting participants believed an agreement had been reached which is why some reportedly left the meeting once this draft had been prepared (including German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble)."
"In the event, consultation on the part of the Greek negotiators with Athens resulted in the draft being blocked due to objections regarding its wording. If this is a correct reporting of the events, then it demonstrates that the substance of an agreement had already been agreed but that its semantic couching proved the stumbling block."
"We would also add that for political face-saving purposes, it is entirely possible the Greek government felt duty bound to defer reaching a compromise at this “early” stage so as to not be seen to have conceded too readily."