Greece’s lenders tabled a seven-conditions “manifesto” so that the debt-ridden country will be able to get the €110-billion bailout, the second after May 2010. The Troika consisting of IMF/EU/ECB urges the Greek government to adopt laws that they should have been adopted long ago like the opening of closed professions or abolition of tax exemptions. The opening of closed profession , a law that should had come into force by 1. July 2011, has been met with the fierce opposition by lawyers, notaries, architects, engineers, pharmacists, taxi and truck owners.
Troika’s conditions are bound to a strict time-table. Greece has failed to far to fulfill Troika’s order with great delays. If the clocks tick differently in Greece, how can the trains leave on time?
here are the Troika’s Seven Conditions according to economic news portal Capital.gr
Seven Conditions for the New Loan Agreement
The Troika urges Greek government to adopt laws on the abolition of exemptions and special regimes in VAT and taxes of legal persons, and the total deregulation of closed professions.Greek Finance Minister EvangelosVenizelos is presenting to a government committee the strict conditions set by the Troika in order to continue to lend Greece. There are dozens of terms and accumulated commitment, pending even since 2010.
However, according to sources, seven of them are considered “prior actions” for the payment of installments. The review will begin at the arrival of the Troika, right after the EU Summit in December.
Sources note that the Troika calls Greece to:
1. Adopt the new tax bill by the end of the year
2. Achieve the fiscal targets set in June to fight tax evasion
3. Adopt a law on the supervisory organizations in relation to the role of the ECB and the EFSF
4. The Bank of Greece should complete the assessment of capital needs of financial institutions by March
5. Complete the interventions in closed professions
6. Restrain deficit to 9% of GDP. The primary deficit should be limited to 0.7% of GDP, while the government should service arrears to individuals.
7. Sell holdings in Alpha, National and Piraeus Bank, Airbus by December, and State Lotteries, Parnitha Casino, LARKO, OPAP, Hellenic Defense Systems and a package of real estate assets in the first quarter of 2012.
Tough medicine indeed. But, possibly Greece can rebound and become great again like it was in the past pre “Andreas Pap”.
I found this Huffington Post article, written by a Greek American blogger to be very insightful on Greece’s steps to recovery.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-andris/greece-debt-crisis-_b_991829.html?
This HuffingtonPost article sounds like someone commenting your broken leg with “i’ve had that also!” without ever realizing that broken bones are never the same and in the case of Greece and the Greeks the author met a few folks to get the big picture like every typical journalists who is smart enough to sell his own opinions. And typical journalists in most parts of the Western World make enough bux to have frat cars and so they will worship their system.
When people don’t have the fantasy to create their lives outside of their capitalist nightmare they might deserve the decline of their “civilization” and that’s the best for the following generations anyway. Whatelse will save from climate chaos if not the total destruction of world trade and economy? If noone has the money to drive cars then that’s the best for the future of the planet.