Heads of creditors return to Athens

They will resume the bailout review on Wednesday, with the aim of reaching a conclusion as early as possible. Still, the differences that existed before the representatives last left Greece have not been eliminated.

The Eurogroup council of eurozone finance ministers opened the way yesterday for the return of the heads of the creditors’ missions to Athens on Tuesday, with the aim of completing the bailout review by end-April.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone’s top official, said there was “enough common ground” between the two sides for the inspectors to return to the Greek capital as soon as Tuesday.
However, he said the Greek government had more work to do if the review was to be favourable, notably on plugging a budget hole and deepening certain reforms.
A successful review of the reforms that were demanded in the country’s latest €80 billion bailout programme is needed to release more rescue loans and pave the way for discussions on how to reduce Greece’s debt burden. Dijsselbloem confirmed the debt discussions would be forthcoming.
Dijsselbloem noted that for the target of a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2018 to be attained, a more “solid” package of measures will be required, adding that part of the solution could be measures for the lightening of the debt. He went on to explain that the main parameters in a discussion on the debt would be the reforms in the pension and tax systems and the fiscal measures to be taken.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos spoke of a very good meeting in Brussels on Monday, noting that the creditors have agreed to return to Athens despite the differences between the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. He added that the Greek side is looking forward to the completion of the review for talks to begin on lightening the Greek debt.
“I am sure that sensible people, when they sit down at the table, will find a sensible conclusion,” said Tsakalotos.

Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said the Commission is ready to participate in talks on the Greek debt, and estimated that the bailout review could be completed soon, as this would be in everyone’s interest. He echoed the view by the head of the European Stability Mechanism, Klaus Regling, that the review could be finished by Greek Easter Sunday on May 1.

The biggest stumbling blocks in the talks concern the coverage of the fiscal gap up to 2018, the social security reform, changing the tax system, the management of nonperforming loans, the setup of the new privatizations hyperfund, and the independence of the General Secretariat for Public Revenues.