Eurogroup meeting decided for May 9

Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijjselbloem has decided to hold the Eurogroup meeting on Greece on Monday, May 9. The Eurogroup head announced the decision to Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos. The Dutch politician believes the period till May 9 will give enough time for the parties to discuss the contingency package measures worth €3.6blnm, as well as help lay the grounds for a better discussion at the Eurogroup meeting. Meanwhile, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras had phone contacts with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker on the progress of talks and the review. According to media sources, the head of the Eurogroup is hoping to arrange a meeting between Tsakalotos, IMF head Christine Lagarde, and ECB head Mario Draghi in an effort reach an agreement before the Eurogroup meeting he scheduled. Tsipras’s request for an EU Summit meeting is still on the table, as it received the support of France behind the scenes. According to the same sources, in the event the May 9 Eurogroup meeting fails to produce results an extra ordinary EU Summit meeting will be convened for May 14 or 15.