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Is Yanis Varoufakis still "a valuable asset" for the government, as Alexis Tsipras had described him? The continuous public statements by the Greek Minister of Finance often undermine the government efforts to reach an agreement rather than to facilitate them.

At the same time, there is the impression of an uncoordinated team with many individual centres, each of which intervenes alone in the negotiations. And while the negotiation process is now entering its final and most crucial phase, the line between coming to agreement and collapsing a delicate "building" being extremely thin, Yanis Varoufakis is showing himself as an independent player and a constant source of turmoil. In an unusually sharp statement during an interview with MNI Agency, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker expresses his dissatisfaction with the Greek Minister of Finance. "He is not helping the negotiations. Mr. Varoufakis is the Minister of Finance of a country that has to confront huge problems and he does give the feeling that he knows that," says Juncker, stating however that he has confidence in Alexis Tsipras.

Yesterday Yanis Varoufakis caused a commotion once again when, answering a question of imposing a tax on bank transactions, he stated, "A small fee on withdrawals could be a counter-incentive to the use of cash." Nearly two hours later and after the fuss due to the introduction of a tax even on ATM withdrawals, the Ministry of Finance issued a statement in which it specified that this measure had been withdrawn from the negotiating table with the creditors.

Having received the message of the partners that the lack of progress in the negotiations would be blamed mainly on the Greek Minister of Finance, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made delicate provisions to remove him from the direct negotiation process, putting in charge Euclidis Tsakalotos as coordinator of the negotiating team. Yanis Varoufakis withdrew along with his associates and George Houliarakis took the baton but this development does not seem to have discouraged the Minister of Finance. Moreover, his statements reveal the extent to which he is unaware of what is happening in real time in the negotiation process. A few days ago, he presented as concluded with the partners an agreement relating to a project for a higher or lower VAT depending on the method of payment but it became clear that this proposal had been rejected based on legal arguments at that.

The continued and, as is already clear, misplaced statements on the part of Yanis Varoufakis irritate his colleagues at the Ministry of Finance who are not hiding their dissatisfaction with the political price that these statements cost them. Market factors express dissatisfaction too because of the disturbances that these statements are causing each time. As if that was not enough, and Yanis Varoufakis had further strained the already difficult relations with his counterparts in the Eurogroup by revealing that he had recorded their meetings.

The "valuable asset" does not seem inclined to stay in the shade, making it clear with his public statements that he would not sign a bad agreement. Maybe this is because Varoufakis is aware of the role of a scapegoat that is being prepared for him because someone has to be sacrificed to achieve an agreement that, by no means, would be perfect.