Greece’s lenders Troika is here to stay. It looks as if the representatives of International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank won’t leave Athens until they have tied down with nails and ropes Greece’s government officials on further economic measures and revenues increases. According to economic portal Capital.gr the Troika guys put pressure on Greek government for effective short-term (2011) and medium-term (2012-2015) economic packages and fiscal discipline.
Troika representatives are determined to stay in Athens for as long as needed to unravel the imbroglio of measures and deficits. Today’s meeting with Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou will determine the time of their stay in Greece, which is very likely to be extended.
Government officials consider the meeting of FinMin with Troika as the most critical since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The amount of €1,74b in additional measures is very likely to increase, after the new revision of the previous years’ deficit, which is not yet completed.
The medium-term package of €22b revenue measures and the €50b privatization program should be finalized soon.
In a meeting with the Special Secretary for Privatization G. Christodoulakis on Tuesday, Troika asked for explanations about the planning of 2011 and the new program, which has been already prepared at the technical level, but no crucial political decisions have been made.
They also met with the Special Secretary for Public Enterprises and Entities, G. Kyriakos, who is requires to achieve a major spending restraint that will support the medium-term package. Key issues were the retroactive cutting of wages by 10% and the new measures in the public entities.
A deadline is set on April 15. The government has committed to incorporate all the decisions into a bill and proceed with announcements, which will be placed for public consultation.
Public consultation? That’s the solution to Greece’s problems….
