Brussels, 19/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 19 October, the European Commission said that it was currently working with the IMF, the ECB and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to analyse the package of reforms voted through by the Greek parliament on Saturday, before it recommends that a sub- tranche of €2 billion be disbursed by the ESM to Greece.
The technical teams of the 'institutions' are already in Athens, where they have started technical discussions with the Greek authorities, explained Annika Breidthardt, spokesperson of the Commission. The heads of mission will also be travelling there to hold discussions, between Wednesday and Friday, regarding the progress in the implementation of the third Greek bailout plan, with particular emphasis on this first list of prior actions.
The package of measures voted through on Saturday, by 154 out of 300 MPs, includes delaying retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2022 and removing the possibility of early retirement. It also contains a tighter legal framework to fight tax evasion and changes to the framework for the settlement of tax arrears. The Euro working group at the Council of the EU could approve the disbursement of this sub- tranche of €2 billion this week, according to the Greek press.
The opposition parties (New Democracy, Pasok and To Potami) did not get behind the package, a gesture which the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, dismisses as opportunism, given that these parties approved the financial bailout plan in August of this year. “There are no new measures, there are just difficult measures that we all knew about when we voted for the agreement in August”, said Tsipras, adding that these parties had applied the policies of the memorandum “without negotiating” for five years.
Breidthardt said that the 'institutions' and Athens were expected to agree in the coming weeks on a second list of actions as a preliminary to the payment of a second sub-tranche of €1 billion. According to the Greek press, this second list will feature tougher measures.
It is also worth noting that the Greek government has called for the resignation of Katerina Savvaidou, the Greek Secretary General for Public Revenue was appointed in June 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, Dr Savvaidou will have to go before the public prosecutors over a second breach of her duties. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)