Brussels, 29/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - In late afternoon on Tuesday 29 July, the European Commission officially confirmed that the troika of lenders (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) will hold a preparatory meeting with the Greek authorities in Paris in early September ahead of the fifth monitoring mission in the country itself. Commission spokesman Antoine Colombani said: “A preparatory meeting will be held in Paris in early September between the Greek authorities and Mission Chiefs for Greece at the European Commission, ECB and IMF. The meeting will serve to identify the key issues which will be discussed during the next review of economic adjustment programme of Greece. As indicated in the latest joint statement by EC/ECB/IMF staff, the next review mission will take place in Athens in the second half of September. The preparatory meeting does not replace the full review mission”.
Greek television station Mega TV said on Monday evening that it had learnt from the IMF that meetings would be held in Paris in September. Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported the same information from sources at the IMF, the European Commission and the cabinet office of the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras. Greek press say that the talks in Paris from 3 to 5 September will form the basis of the fifth monitoring mission on the ground.
This is reported to be in response to a request from Greece to speed up the troika missions because the last one took several months to complete and was interrupted several times, and also to reduce tension in Greece each time the troika arrives. The talks in Paris are meant to discuss the country's budget situation and financing needs.
A report from the Greek parliament's budget bureau shows a financing gap of €14.9 billion by 31 December 2016, according to reports in the Greek press. It says that the most likely scenario for filoling the gap is aid from the European Stability Mechanism, but the Greek government is resisting at every turn.
The report foresees growth of 0.9% in 2014, mainly due to tourism. It warns of risks in the banking sector due to the high level of non-performing loans and says that the recent capital increases by Greek banks (totalling €8.3 billion) may not be enough for the banks to get through the ECB's bank tests. Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis is reported to have warned his European counterparts of the danger of the tests being too tough and to have called for restructuring plans to be taken into account. (EL)