lenders, known as the “troika,” were asking Athens to take immediately
or risk losing the next tranche. Finance Ministry officials said the
list was compiled internally and included steps already agreed with
lenders in July.
“The troika does not give us lists. It wants us to meet fiscal targets
and asks us to spell out how we will do it,” said a government official
on condition of anonymity.
In Brussels press spokesman Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn Amadeu Altafaj confirmed this report and told reporters that they have not asked “anything more than the agreed ….” Just goes to show you that even though the Greek mainstream media tries…. it always falls flat on its face for continuing to lie to the people of this nation!
On Monday Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos would have a conference call with the heads of the EU/IMF inspection team for Greece at 1600 GMT, expected to be followed by a cabinet meeting to discuss specific steps Greece must take to secure further funds. Venizelos told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Greece needed to make major decisions now to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone. “It is very crucial that Greece protects itself in such tense conditions. We should not allow ourselves to become the scapegoat or the easy excuse that will be used by European and international institutions in order to hide their inability to manage the crisis,” he said. “We have the will, the determination and the commitment to implement all that is needed to meet our obligations vis-a-vis our partners who are also our lenders,” he said.
Analysts say it is crunch time for Greece, which must face up to the fact that unless it does what its lenders say, it could be unable to pay next month’s salaries and pensions and other state expenses. “There was a big list in the medium-term fiscal plan but they need to be actually implemented and the deficit has to come down. Otherwise the next tranche could be withheld until the government does it, even after December, so there could be some disorderly default,” said Citigroup’s Giada Giani.
The measures have met resistance, not only from a public fed up with two years of austerity and taking to the streets, but bellicose labor unions and even from within the ruling socialist party. “Commerce can’t stand any more measures… You are annihilating us,” the Greek retail association ESEE told the government in a statement. “You are leading the Greek middle class to full annihilation. Stop now.”
ESEE said it would challenge in court a new property tax slapped on households on September 11 through electricity bills to plug a 2 billion euro budget hole this year. EU officials, who have long warned against one-off taxes that stifle the economy, expressed doubts the tax would rake in the funds targeted in the face of public resistance and asked the government to take other steps, Greek officials said.
(ANA)
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