Brussels, 11/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Greek authorities have one week to achieve as much as possible in talks with the troika of lenders (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund), representatives of which are back in Athens on Wednesday for a week.
Anything not dealt with by Christmas will be carried over into January, when Greece takes over the chairmanship of the Council of the EU from Lithuania, a situation Greece would clearly prefer to avoid. The government has unveiled draft reforms of the Greek defence system, EAS, which would be restructured with reduced staffing and export capabilities for a one-year transition period, with 500 job losses in 2013. Greece hopes that this will be included in the reform of the public sector. If this milestone is implemented, aid of €1 billion will be disbursed. In January 2014, VAT on cafes and restaurants, which had been reduced to 13% in the summer to encourage demand, will return to the normal rate of 23%. The moratorium on repossessions will also end. Ways still need to be found for filling the budget gap for 2014. (EL/transl.fl)