Greek PM Tsipras to meet EU’s Juncker on Friday

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday at 0800 GMT in Brussels to discuss European Union financial support for poorest Greeks, Greek and EU officials said on Monday.

A Greek government official said: “On Friday, the prime minister will meet Jean Claude Juncker in Brussels … They will discuss how Greece could use EU funds to tackle the humanitarian crisis.”

Tsipras will be in Paris on Thursday for meetings at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Juncker, a former prime minister of Luxembourg and former head of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, has been trying to mediate between the new Athens government and its international creditors, notably Germany and other EU states.

Some diplomats have said that the involvement of the Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has irked the Berlin government and other creditors anxious to hold Greece to the terms of bailout loans. The Eurogroup is meeting again later on Monday, with Greece’s funding needs on the agenda.

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