Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said negotiators had made “significant progress” in talks to strike a restructuring deal for Greek government debt, with the aim of reaching a definitive agreement by the end of this week.
“Significant progress has been made in talks about private sector involvement,” Papademos told reporters early on Tuesday, following a meeting with senior officials from the European Central Bank and the EU after an EU leaders’ summit.
“We are seeking to conclude negotiations with the troika by the end of the week,” he said, referring to the team of analysts from the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, who are responsible for monitoring Greece’s progress in meeting budget deficit targets.
Papademos said the major sticking points to be agreed upon with the troika regarded deeper spending cuts and labor market reforms.
Those commitments, together with a deal with private sector bondholders to take a 50 percent face-value writedown on the near 200 billion euros ($264 billion) of Greek bonds they hold, are necessary before the troika can sign off on a second rescue package for Greece.
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