LUXEMBOURG: Spain on Friday threatened to block the latest bailout disbursement to Greece, angry that Athens has failed to drop a legal case against European experts who had worked on the Greek privatization program.
“The payment of the latest tranche will be blocked (without a solution),” said Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos on the sidelines of EU finance minister talks in Luxembourg.
De Guindos told reporters that Spain and Italy had won the support of euro zone partners at marathon talks on Thursday when a €8.5 billion ($9.5 billion) payout to Greece was agreed in principle.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, the euro zone’s most dominant figure, backed De Guindos.
“Immunity was promised beforehand and such commitments should be fulfilled,” Schaeuble told reporters.
Another top euro zone official said the allegations were “unfair” and that ministers believed the case was politically motivated. The legal case concerns three advisers from Spain, Italy and Slovakia to the Greek privatization agency, created at the insistence of Germany in the wake of the debt crisis in 2011.
Many details of the accusations are unknown, but a Greek legal source said the experts were accused of “disloyalty to the public,” a crime that carries a 20-year jail sentence.
The Greek courts initiated proceedings against the experts in 2014 after alleged irregularities in the sale of 28 real estate properties owned by the Greek state.
Since 2016, a Greek law hands immunity to foreign experts assisting Greece in its bailout program but has no retroactive effect.
“We will find a solution in time,” a Greek government source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We are not going to go broke over this case,” the source added.
Payment of the latest tranche of Greece’s €86 billion ($97 billion) bailout still requires the official approval of national parliaments and a final sign off by euro zone ministers, giving Spain a de facto veto for moving forward.
Euro zone ministers struck a long-delayed bailout deal with Greece on Thursday to unlock badly needed rescue cash but warned Athens would have to wait for debt relief.
Spain threatens to block Greece bailout payment
Spain threatens to block Greece bailout payment
Free trade negotiations between GCC, India mark new phase of partnership, says sec-gen
RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general affirmed that the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, and the signing of the joint statement, represents a new phase of strategic partnership.
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said that this contributes to enhancing close cooperation and strengthening economic and trade ties, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
This came during the signing ceremony of the joint statement on launching the free trade agreement negotiations between the Al-Budaiwi and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, which took place in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
During the signing ceremony, Al-Budaiwi said that the Terms of Reference, signed on Feb. 5, provide a comprehensive and clear framework for these negotiations. The two nations agreed to discuss enhancing cooperation in vital strategic areas, including trade in goods, customs procedures, and services.
Additionally, the framework covers Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, cooperation on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, along with other topics of mutual interest. This reflects the comprehensive nature of the agreement and its ability to keep pace with the future economy.
Al-Budaiwi expressed hope that these negotiations would lead to a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that works to remove customs and non-customs barriers, enhance the flow of quality investments in both directions, and achieve further liberalization in trade and investment cooperation between the GCC and India for mutual benefit.
This would provide a stimulating economic environment and an investment climate that opens broad horizons for the business sector, supports supply chains, and accelerates the pace of economic growth in line with the ambitious developmental visions of the GCC states.
The top official affirmed the full readiness of the General Secretariat to host the first round of negotiations at its headquarters in Riyadh during the second half of this year.
The two sides held a meeting during which they reviewed the existing cooperation relations between the GCC and India and discussed ways to develop and elevate them to broader horizons, serving mutual interests and enhancing opportunities for strategic partnership between the two sides, particularly in the economic, investment, and trade fields.
They praised the role undertaken by the negotiating teams from both sides, appreciating the efforts contributing to reaching a comprehensive agreement that enhances economic integration and supports the smooth flow of trade between the two nations.
