Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras issued a stern warning to his cabinet, urging them to implement the legislated ‘prior actions’ sooner rather than later, in order to wrap up the third review of the bailout programme.

The ‘key deliverables’ that the EU lenders set as predispositions, should be completed by November, in order for Greece to meet an unofficial end-of-the-year deadline for the review.

The Greek government is still reeling from the bitter experience of the second review, which concluded a year and a half after the original schedule, having been stalled by inaction and fruitless negotiations.

This delay resulted in another round of austerity and harsh measures, such as the automatic spending cuts mechanism taking effect whenever the country gets off track in its fiscal targets. According to political analysts, the PM’s ultimatum to his ministers is a sign that a cabinet reshuffle can be expected by the end of the year.