“There are great social problems that need to be solved step by step, but for the first time we are facing the exit of the seven-year crisis”, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos on Friday said in an interview to Kokkino radio station.
He underlined that the issues remaining to be solved are technical, adding that “we are very close to finding solutions.”
Asked whether there will be white smoke on the issue of the programme review, he said that this is the target and “we are working towards that direction.”
“We have reasons to believe that the text of the supplementary memorandum and the agreement with the IMF will have closed by Sunday so that we can then conclude the draft bill with the prior actions, submit it to parliament and vote it. The compliance report must be then written by the institutions and submitted at the Eurogroup on 22 May,” he said.
He underlined that with the conclusion of the agreement on Sunday the negotiations on the mid-term measures on the Greek debt will intensify.
He pointed out that what is being discussed now is the mid-term measures to be implemented after the end of the programme. He underlined that the IMF is asking for a more specific description of the measures, which will be implemented once the programme has been successfully completed. “In this regard, I think there will be a political solution,” he underlined. He added that all sides are working in that direction and he estimated “the chances are high”.
He stressed that “this is why we are focused on this target, because the country’s entry into the quantitative easing program of the ECB depends on this development “.
KTG understands that the government road map is: 1. Staff level agreement, legislation of additional austerity measures by mid May ⇒ 2. through agreement with creditors and conclusion of second review at Eurogroup May 22 ⇒ 3. release of bailout trance ⇒ 4. ECB evaluation of Greek economic situation by June ⇒ 5. Greece participates in ECB’s Quantitative Easing ⇒ 6. Growth comes to the country.
Negotiations on third review of the Greek program are expected to commence in early autumn, additional austerity measures worth 3.6billion euros are to implemented in 2019-2020.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said recently that he will not implement the additional measures if creditors will not proceed with debt relief measures.
Of course, there is the option that Tsipras will not be Prime Minister when the measures will have to be implemented as the country will have to hold parliamentary elections in 2019.
