Greek PM Tsipras lashes out at Dijsselbloem

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras criticized the Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem in a late-night interview on Monday. He accused the European Central Bank and Dijsselbloem, also president of the Eurogroup, of treating Greece unequally and breaking promises, reported Bloomberg. Tsipras pointed out steps taken by European institutions that he said had worsened the situation in Greece. “On February 18, the ECB took a decision which was politically and ethically unorthodox,” Tsipras is quoted saying. “It was a decision to put a ceiling of nine billion euros on the amount that Greece’s systemic banks can hold in t-bills, while the normal ceiling is 15 billion.” The decision meant that Greek lenders lost their ability to refinance an additional six billion euros in short-term debt, said Tsipras. He said Dijsselbloem had previously reassured that as soon as the bailout agreement is extended beyond February, the ceiling would be eliminated. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis also received similar promises from the Eurogroup, which Dijsselbloem heads, the Greek politician claimed. Varoufakis is sidelined in negotiations with the country’s creditors after criticisms of his performance during the meeting in Riga. His role is now limited to supervising political negotiations with euro-area countries and the International Monetary Fund.