Greek government agrees in principle with creditors on pension reform

The Labour Minister Mr. Katrougalos said yesterday after a meeting with the mission chiefs that an agreement in principle was reached on the pension reform, which includes an increase by 1% in social security contributions for workers and pensioners by 0.5% each for 3 years. He added that a €70m difference will be bridged by the technical teams.

The Greek government and Greece’s creditors also came closer on the NPL issue, while differences remain on the tax-free threshold (with the creditors wanting a lower amount than the government’s proposal of €9,100), for which Greece may seek a ‘political’ solution today. The mission chiefs left Athens yesterday to attend today’s Eurogroup, but talks should continue on ground at a technical level.