Brussels, 30/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - Talks on the multiannual programme that should allow financial aid to be paid to Greece are about to draw to a conclusion. “The end is in sight”, repeated Commissioner Olli Rehn's spokesman on Friday 30 April, while several sources spoke of the possibility of concluding on Friday or Saturday. A meeting of eurozone finance ministers has at any rate been convened by the president of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, and will be organised on Sunday 2 May in Brussels (4.00pm) to examine the aid plan. Operations should continue with a meeting of the eurozone heads of state or government for a final endorsement, during the evening of 7 May after the last examination by the German parliament, of the legislation authorising payment of Berlin's contribution.
Furthermore, nothing has even been officially confirmed on the content of the programme. For now, the amount of aid has been evaluated at €45 billion for the first year alone (€30 billion in bilateral loans from eurozone countries and €15 million from the International Monetary Fund). Over three years, this amount could reach €120 billion and, to benefit from this, Greece is preparing to take additional austerity measures. It is a question of “survival for the nation”, Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Friday 30 April. “Measures we must take, which are economic measures, are necessary to protect our country, our future, so that we are able to raise ourselves up again”, he said speaking before the Greek parliament. In order to reduce the public deficit by 10 to 11 percentage points over three years, an austerity plan of around €24 billion would be set in place, states The Financial Times in its 30 April edition. This would mean a freeze in salaries and recruitment over three years in the public sector, elimination of the 13th and 14th month for employees, a rise in the average age for retirement, privatisation of public enterprise and an increase in consumer taxation. (A.B./transl.jl)