Troika Sets Oct. 18 Deadline For Greece To Implement Reforms
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Greece’s troika of international lenders – the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank – has warned the Greek government to implement up to 89 so-called “prior actions”, like overhauling labour and pension laws, by October 18 “at the latest”, or risk missing out on the next instalment of the bailout package, worth up to 31.5 billion euros ($40.6 billion).
Greece’s troika of international lenders – the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank – has warned the Greek government to implement up to 89 so-called “prior actions”, like overhauling labour and pension laws, by October 18 “at the latest”, or risk missing out on the next instalment of the bailout package, worth up to 31.5 billion euros ($40.6 billion).
“We stressed that before the next disbursement Greece clearly and credibly should demonstrate its commitment to fully implement the programme – and 89 prior actions from March should be implemented by the 18th of October at the latest,” said Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker, as cited by AFP, after a round of talks with fellow eurozone finance ministers on Monday.
“Greece is doing a lot, there’s no question about it,” added IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, at the same news conference.
[quote]“But acting means acting, not just speaking, so the list of prior actions have to be implemented,” she said.[/quote]Related: Greece Told To Implement Six-Day Workweek By Troika: Report
Related: Greece’s Fallacious Four – The Main Culprits Of The Greek Tragedy: Mohamed El-Erian
Related: Greece Must End Its Doomed Marriage With The Eurozone: Nouriel Roubini
October 18 will be the first day of a two-day summit of EU heads of government – where European leaders were expected to sign off on Greece’s latest aid tranche.
But the prospects of this now appear to be dim, despite promises from Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras that Greece would do nothing to “jeopardise” the next instalment of its bailout package.
On Friday, Antonis Samaras, the Greek Prime Minister, also admitted that the state’s coffers would be empty by November if the aid instalment does not arrive.
According to the Wall Street Journal, European economics commissioner Oli Rehn refused to comment on the possibility of a Greek default, though he said that such speculation was “premature.” EU officials have also insisted that splitting the Greek loan disbursement was not an option.
Other issues raised on Monday at the Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers also included discussions over Portugal and Spain. As expected, the rescue package for Portugal was far more straightforward as compared to Greece – the ministers gave the green light for the next trance of bailout loans to the country worth up to $17.5 billion – while the ministers were also unanimous in the belief that Spain did not require a bailout.
[quote]”Spain doesn’t need any aid program. That’s what the government says again and again and we should simply trust the Spanish government,” said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.[/quote]Related: Spain Resists ECB Bailout Despite Draghi’s Urgings
Related: Spain To Borrow $267 Billion In 2013 Amid Bank Bailout Fears
