“The proposal submitted by the Greek side remains the only realistic and constructive proposal on the table,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after the meeting with the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker late on Wednesday.

According to AMNA, Tsipras said the discussion with Juncker was “constructive and friendly” and added “from the proposals we have heard from the three institutions, I would like to keep the lower surplus as a basis for discussion. Certainly there are many more issues we agree on. But there are issues that no one could approach because everyone should know that we are talking about a country that has undergone a major economic disaster over the past five years. It has lost 25 percent of GDP in five years of austerity. Proposals such as abolishing the supplementary pensions of low-pension retirees, known as EKAS, or increasing VAT on electricity by 10 percentage points are proposals that cannot constitute a basis for discussion…The Greek proposals remain the realistic basis for discussion. Discussions will continue in the coming period, in the coming days and I can say that as long as someone discusses honestly, it is easier to reach a mutually acceptable solution.”

The Prime Minister clarified that there is no a ΄take it or leave it΄ proposal, but only dialogue for a mutually beneficial solution.

On his part, the European Commission president said: “It was a good, constructive meeting. Progress was made in understanding the positions of each side, based on different proposals.”