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"We are on the right track, there are similarities in the positions, we will have an agreement with the Eurogroup by Friday. We have submitted a proposal which is satisfactory both for us and for the Eurogroup President", believes Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis.
    Yesterday Varoufakis spoke on the phone with US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew, who urged him immediately to request an extension of the bailout because otherwise Greece would face an immediate hardship. "Time is of the utmost importance," stressed the US Secretary of the Treasury. Many analysts also support this view, arguing that a possible GREXIT would have catastrophic consequences for Greece itself, whereas the negatives for the rest of the euro zone would be limited.
    At the same time, the European partners of Greece in Brussels are deeply concerned by the bill for a partial tax amnesty that was submitted yesterday without being coordinated with the European institutions, which is essentially considered a unilateral action on the part of the Greek government. Deputy Minister of Finance Nadia Valavani and Deputy Social Minister Dimitris Stratoulis presented the project, according to which tax debtors can benefit from a 50% remission of taxes, if they are able to pay in cash the remaining 50% by the end of April. The obligations in question were due to the state by 31 December 2013. The remission rate will be lower for those who are unable to pay the amount in cash - they will have to pay it in instalments of a minimum of 200 euro and will have to pay the amount due by the end of May 2015.
    The decision on the remission of the amounts due to the state is made at a time when the revenues to the treasury have sharply decreased, the insurance funds are empty and the payment of pensions for March is uncertain.
    Sources from the European institutions are not hiding their annoyance with yesterday's decision of the Greek Ministry of Finance to declassify the file of the negotiations between Greece and its European partners in an attempt to set against each other European Union Commissioner for Monetary Affairs Pierre Moscovici and the Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
    Meanwhile, Minister of State Alekos Flambouraris announced that if there were no agreement between Greece and the Eurogroup for some reason, Greece would request an extraordinary meeting of the European Council of Heads of State of the European Union member states.