Eurogroup meeting faces rising discord over Greek debt negotiations

Another Greek MEP, Nikolaos Chountis, lamented the state of the play and said Greece has suffered enough as it is.

"They will say 'NO' to the Euro and the monetary union that aims to put in place permanent austerity, privatisations and neoliberal structural reforms."

"They will fight for their dignity and for democracy," Chountis added.

Meanwhile, German ECR MEP Hans-Olaf Henkel, has called for a "double decision" -- a massive debt relief for Greece and the withdrawal of the country from the Euro.

The economics professor and former president of the Federation of German Industry (BDI) underlined the still prevailing lack of competitiveness of Greece in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

A high unemployment rate and the lack of economic prospects are good reasons for Greece to leave the Eurozone as quickly as possible in order to become more competitive again.

Before that, however, it is necessary to grant Greece a substantial debt relief in exchange. A bankruptcy could be the first step towards improvement, according to Henkel.

"The Euro is too strong for Greece and has led to a declining economic performance and destruction of jobs," says Henkel.

A debt relief and the withdrawal of Greece from the euro, he argues, would also be make sense for the other euro countries.

"Firstly, creditors will not pay for it -- the money is already gone. Secondly, a new, depreciated currency would help Greece finally regain competitiveness, get economically on its feet again and tackle the unbearable problem of youth unemployment," Henkel said.

"Let's not delude ourselves, the money we gave Greece we will not see again. Let us free Greece from the burden of being part of the euro, because it has only harmed the country," Henkel concluded.

This discussion is a follow-up to a debate held in July 2016, when the Eurogroup mandated the Eurogroup Working Group to conduct an analysis of conditions that are relevant for promoting investment in the euro area.

While the state of the country's fiscal and reform plans will take centre stage on Monday, the Eurogroup will also look into the environment for doing business in the euro area, which includes the administrative and regulatory burden, quality of public services and tax administration.

The European Commission will present data on the current economic situation in the euro area as well as the outlook for 2017-2018, based on its winter forecast, which was published on Feb 13.