Against this economic and political backdrop, the concessions Athens has offered in recent days are significant. In his press conference at the eurogroup meeting on Monday, Mr. Varoufakis said that Greece would be willing to ask for an extension of the “loan agreement” instead of the “bailout program,” as stated in the purported draft presented by EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici earlier on Monday. Mr. Varoufakis has also pledged to avoid unilateral policy moves, and measures that would derail the budget. Athens would commit to maintain a budget surplus, before debt service, of 1.5% of GDP—about the same as last year, but lower than the 3% target of the bailout program for this year and the 4.5% target from 2016 onwards.
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