Labour minister says progress was achieved in talks with institutions

Speaking to the news agency, the minister said that progress was made in today’s meeting with the mission chiefs of the institutions, with the latter agreeing to discuss some of the main positions of the Greek side.
“Of course there was no agreement today,” he said. “I cannot say now if we’ll agree. I am, however, a bit more optimistic compared to yesterday’s meeting,” he added, noting that more headway could be made on Saturday. Katrougalos said that there were no categorical objections from the institutions on any of the main issues concerning social security.
He said the government remains firm in not cutting main pensions. “There was no such issue raised, even from the other side,” he said and noted the government also wants to maintain a redistributive character of the system. “You cannot reach a compromise if you don’t have mutual concessions. We hope there will be a deal.”