Tsipras faces stiff challenge in scrapping bailout deal
Euronews, 02.02.2015
Quotes
Alexis Tsipras, the new Greek prime minister, might be continuing his campaign to scrap the troika bailout agreement, but it’s Germany which holds the keys to any deal, according to experts.
Athens wants to replace the troika of the EU, the ECB and the IMF, but Berlin looks unlikely to change its hardline on austerity.
Janis Emmanouilidis of the European Policy Centre said that the most difficult negotiations will certainly be between Greece and Germany.
“Here the two positions are very rigid, very tough and very different. But we will have to reach a compromise between these two sides, between Berlin and Athens,” he said.
The single currency crisis flaring up again also has an impact beyond Europe’s borders.
“From the US’s perspective, a worsening of the euro crisis would be a real negative development,” said Emmanouilidis.
“That’s exactly what you don’t want. You don’t want an escalation of the eurocrisis because you can see the potential dangers, economically and geopolitically speaking.”
Greece is in a corner of Europe that is a geopolitical hotspot with a somewhat difficult neighbourhood.
The finance ministers of Greece and Germany are expected to meet in the coming weeks, media reports say.
Link to original text here
Latest media contributions
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: Spring European Council: Can the EU meet the challenges of the new world disorder?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 26.03.2026
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: Informal leaders' retreat: New momentum for European competitiveness?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 16.02.2026
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: The Greenland crisis: A test for Europe's credibilitye need for strategic choices
Online Briefing, YouTube, 23.01.2026
EPC Update: EUrope in 2026: the need for strategic choices
Online Briefing, YouTube, 12.01.2026
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: The last EU Summit of 2025: a real moment of truth?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 19.12.2025
The next MFF: an adequate answer to EUrope’s challenges?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 24.11.2025
The future of enlargement and EU reform – the candidates' perspective
EU Democracy Reform Conversation, YouTube, 27.10.2025
October Summit: Can the European Council move from divisions to delivery?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 24.10.2025
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: Copenhagen and beyond: accelerating progress on defence and Ukraine?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 02.10.2025
State of the Union 2025: A crisis of confidence?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 10.09.2025