Greece must commit to implementing the fiscal adjustment programme by October 18 in order to receive the next tranche of the EU/IMF bailout loan, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras was told at the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg this week.
At a press conference after the meeting, Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker and International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde acknowledged the “substantial progress” made by Greece, particularly recently.
Juncker said he was impressed by the performance of the Greek government and the coalition government’s determination “to meet our demands”. Lagarde, however, added that much remains to be done in many sectors, including fiscal and structural reforms, taxation and recapitalization of the debt.
“We stressed that before the next disbursement Greece should demonstrate its commitment to fully implement the programme – and the 89 terms agreed upon in March must be implemented by the 18 of October at the latest,” Juncker said at the close of the meeting of finance ministers from the 17-nation euro single currency area.
IMF managing director Lagarde clarified that “from the initial list a lot has already been done,” adding that “the list of prior actions has to be implemented”.
In the next weeks a comprehensive decision must be taken on Greece, there is no time to lose, Juncker added. Greek Finance Minister Stournaras added on his part that if Greece were to get a two year extension on the bailout, a possibility which is now “on the table”, it would only cost the an additional 12 billion euros, a sum which he claims could be covered relatively easily.
Stournaras further stressed that Greece’s progress must become a priority for all European nations. He emphasised that of the measures to be implemented in 2013-2014, 84 per cent are meant to lower expenditures and 16 per cent aimed at raising revenues.
He also noted that Greece’s expenditures are the lowest in the eurozone at 40 per cent of the GDP. Finance ministers from smaller countries such as Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Estonia, were hostile regarding aid to Greece, Ta Nea reported, as they argued that Greece is a rich country and they cannot justify financing her to their constituents.
Asked if the next tranche of 31.5 billion euros would be disbursed in a one-off instalment, IMF managing director Lagarde said it was too early to give a specific reply..
Source: Athens News/le, AMNA, Ta Nea