Eurozone finance ministers want the equivalent of seats in the Greek Parliament as a condition of the release of bailout funds, demanding oversight of the economy.

Speaking after a conference call between the 17 eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the so-called Eurogroup, praised the progress Greece had made.

But he said more work was needed to strengthen oversight of how Greece would implement its austerity plans.

Some countries are demanding that the Greek economy must be put under much tighter surveillance, giving the eurozone far more control over what Greece does with its money.

That reflects scepticism that Greece will be willing or able to deliver on its promises of reform. In return, angry comments have emerged from Athens about demands made in Berlin and elsewhere.

“Tighter surveillance,” ay? You know, if somebody wanted to come in and run the frankly laughable Greek tax collection system, that might actually be an advance. But I think the finance ministers, are really desiring an effective veto over a sovereign government. They want the major Greek political parties to sign a document saying that they will implement all the austerity measures passed earlier this week, regardless of who wins Parliamentary elections in April. This is like, say, Canada, demanding that Democrats and Republicans in this country sign a document agreeing to Social Security cuts regardless of the electoral outcome. Isn’t that what the election is about? And by the way, the two leading parties in Greece have actually agreed to this.

Eurozone leaders now plan to hold back the full bailout funds until more action is seen on Greece’s promises, perhaps until after the April elections. Why don’t they just throw Greece out of the euro and get on with it? Greece cannot possibly implement all the changes they just passed without impoverishing the country nearly into oblivion. And the Eurozone finance ministers aren’t going to get their full value out of the deal without Greece having to come back again hat in hand, because the likely outcome of the bailout and austerity combo is more indebtedness requiring another bailout. So let’s rip off the Band-Aid here.