Ministry of Finance

Berlin and the European Commission expressed surprise on Monday over the Greek government’s latest statement of abandoning the goal of an interim loan agreement extension with creditors in favor a comprehensive deal extending well past June.

The talks on the Greek debt between the country and its international creditors are finally making a progress after Athens replaced the head of its negotiation team.

The negotiations had been led by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, but the change was necessitated as he was increasingly being criticised by his European partners.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis enjoys the support of the prime minister and will take part in the next meeting of euro zone finance ministers, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told reporters on Monday.

"The head of the negotiating team is Mr. Varoufakis, who has the full confidence of the government,» Sakellaridis said.

By Mohamed El-Erian

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told “Efimerida ton Syntakton” newspaper on Saturday that no country should have entered such an “unstably-built common currency”, especially a country with a history of high deficits, such as Greece.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis got a rock star’s welcome at the May Day rally he attended at Klafthmonos Street. For a full 15 minutes the crowds cheered upon his arrival. Groups of women yelled out “Yanis, We love you!” Journalists and cameras surrounded him… The controversial erratic Marxist minister made no official comment and just lapped up the people’s love.

Greece’s celebrity Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is riding on the crest of unbridled support following an attack against him and his wife during dinner on Wednesday at notorious Exarheia – a hubbub for anarchist thoughts and apparently no place for an “erratic Marxist”.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis insisted in a German newspaper interview Wednesday that he is still in charge of Greece's team handling crucial talks with creditors, despite a recent shake-up.

"Yes, Im in charge. Im still responsible for the talks with the Eurogroup," Varoufakis told the weekly Die Zeit in an interview to be published on Thursday.

A multi-bill aimed at coming closer to an agreement with international creditors is being created today in Brussels by the Greek government’s economic representative George Chouliarakis. The bill aims to unlock part of the 7.2-bln euro tranche benchmarked for Greece.

It is believed that there will be a plethora of additions even if the bill is accepted due to the fact that:

Euclid Tsakalotos, the Oxford-educated economist was born in the Netherlands in 1960, and is soft-spoken and amiable and speaks Greek tinged with a faint British accent. Simple and professional, the new face of the Greek economy will be less about fashion style and more about method, organization and detail.