Brussels, 23/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Talks between the Greek government and its lenders reached a key stage on Sunday 22 September with negotiations under way on “virtually all fronts,” explains the Greek press, quoting a senior source at the finance ministry.
There is reported to be agreement already on some points, like the scale of the recession this year (around 3.8% according to the latest estimates), and the fact that Greece will achieve a slight primary surplus in 2013. The two sides are not expected to address the thorny problem of the financing gap, estimated at some €4 billion, for 2015-2016, which will be examined in the second part of the assessment, after the Eurogroup meeting on 14 October. Talks on how to fill the other financing gap due to emerge in the middle of 2014 will be held at a later date. The president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, told the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee (see separate article) that it is too soon to talk of a third structural adjustment programme because everything depends on access to the money markets.
In Athens at the moment, talks are focussing on the property tax to be introduced in 2014, tax collection and the restructuring of a number of public companies. The country's privatisation programme may be addressed after the meeting on Monday between representatives of the troika (the European Commission, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund) and the Greek privatisation fund, TAIPED.
Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras echoed the country's prime minister on Friday in talks with representatives of Moody's credit rating agency, saying that Greek society cannot afford new austerity measures, according to reports in Greek newspaper Ta Nea. The troika ha arrived in a country rocked by strikes in the public sector, where reforms are being demanded by the lenders in return for an upcoming instalment of €500 million from the EFSF and €500 million in profits made on Greek loans by central banks in the Eurosystem, cash that it has been agreed to return to Greece. The “prior actions” for release of the finance were reportedly not discussed on Sunday. (EL/transl.fl)