The list Greek finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis sent to Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been publish in the Greek media. The list refers mainly to “real structural reforms” and not structural in the sense of “austerity adjustment”.
Below is the list
1. Activate the Fiscal Council with a view to achieve revenues and expansion of its mission. The Fiscal Council is to act as an independent observatory, supportive to government policy, so that it can help to eliminate a possible trend for primary deficit. It should have the ability to prepare macroeconomic projections for the budget, should be impartially monitor the implementation of budgetary plans and meet the fiscal targets and procedures and should also intervene and shape public debate on fiscal policy.
2. Reforms aiming at better preparation of the budget and reform of the Budget Law. In the context of improving the management of public finances, the Greek authorities will proceed with reforms in budgeting. These improvements will include ceilings on expenditure in order to strengthen compliance with the Budget during the year.
3. Establishment of a flexible body targeting tax controls for combating tax evasion. the body will not be permanent. More details here
4. Improvements in the laws that regulate arrears.
5. Direct the inflow of public revenue through the regulation of the framework for authorizing electronic gaming.
6. Reduce bureaucracy and improve the business climate by improving the public services.
7. Measures to address the humanitarian crisis(source: among others via newsit.gr)
The Eurogroup will take up the Varoufakis’ Reform List on Monday, with eurogroup officials stating that they will be expecting more details.
What is interesting for one more time is that there is again a “war of words” and hidden snide remarks or open jibes coming from Brussels on whether Greece sent the list on time, in time or by time and whether it contained all dots, commas and semicolons that would be necessary.
Indicative for the brain confusion in the heads of the Euro-technocrats is an “EU official who claimed, they had no information on Greece’s current cash position.”
How does #EU know #Greece‘s current cash position? Estimates on @Bruegel_org‘s website, says #EU offl. That’s how little talking is going on
— Peter Spiegel (@SpiegelPeter) March 6, 2015
What I heard is that the EU Official Anonymous had found what he wanted in ‘google’ search (LOL) .
Where everybody knows that many Greek data are contained in the latest report of the German Finance Ministry 🙂
My guess is Berlin is far more interested in creating the impression that Greece is under a “program” than to talk about meaningful reforms.
What matters to them is appearances, not substance.
Plus to make sure that this disobedient Greek government is denied oxygen at all costs.
BTW, let’s point out the obvious here:
Whereas V-Reform list to most Greeks means the Varoufakis Reform List, the same to most Germans means the (Greek-German) Vendetta Reform List.
You fill in the blanks but semantics are truly important. 🙂
this list MUST be a joke.
Point 1 to 5 is doing Point 6( the 10.000 goverment workers Tsipras promised to get there Job back).
Point 7 get the Greek ortodox church for it.
They can’t prepare for alternative currency in the open. Nor will they/should they willingly leave euro. They have to plot it.
This is why they are hamstrung, because at the same time, they can’t have currency flight.
Yes, I do believe semantics do matter. When the ESM insisted last week in a tweet that the MoU was absolute, the Greek Fin Ministry shot back that they had not taken heed of the result of difficult negotiations. There really is an attempt to ice out the troika technocrats, so the semantics seem to refer to true active distinctions. Yes, we know that Regling is the same as the troika, but Greece doesn’t have to treat him as such.
Greek arithmetics at its best:
7. (a)
food allowance of €100 per family per month for up to 300 thousand households – budgeted for the 9 calendar months of 2015 at €137.7 million
Non greek arithmetics: 300 000 * 100 € * 9 = 270 000 000 €
no all beneficiaries receive the same amount of assistance.