The troika continues its review on Greek ministries, recording pending any issues of the Memorandum of Understanding, with auditors appearing determined to resolve all major issues before leaving Athens next week.
The troika officials intend to avoid a repeat of June’s marathon negotiations and ask for a press conference to express their opinion, but no final decisions are made.
They aim to press Greek government to implement all decided measures immediately:
-The troika asks for implementation of uniform payroll in October, while a long-tem plan to reduce recruitments by 150,000 by 2015 is still pending.
-It also asks for additional intervention in SOEs, as measures for cost savings of €800 million do not seem to pay off.
-Negotiations regarding the changes in VAT rates are not completed, while the international lenders are not convinced by the government’s determination to fight tax evasion.
-Regarding expenditure, there are complaints about increasing exposure of pension funds, as social security contributions decreased because of soaring unemployment.
-The troika has expressed doubts on the privatization program, as the target of €1.7 billion seems unreachable in the current stock values.
-It also press to overcome obstacles that prevent the absorption of funds of National Strategic Reference Framework, while government officials noted that the troika has agreed on additional development tools.
(source: capital)
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