An incoming series of 6.8 billion euros ($8.8 billion) in more international rescue loans should be just about enough to get Greece through the end of the year apart from another “trivial sum” to keep the country going, Finance Minister Yannis Stouraras said after news of the release of the monies.
“There’ll have to be a new approval from October and after,” Stournaras told reporters in Brussels after his counterparts in the 17-nation euro area approved the fresh disbursements of aid as long as Greece fulfils the conditions in coming weeks. “The sum is trivial.”
Stournaras declined to say how much Greece would need in November and December while signaling the amount would be less than 1.8 billion euro ($2.31 billion) which would be enough take Greece into February of next year when it will again need more loans as it’s being pushed to carry out more reforms in return for the money, a cycle that’s been going on for three years.
Through October, the government in Athens is now scheduled to receive 3 billion euros ($3.86 billion) from the euro area’s temporary rescue facility and 2 billion euros ($2.57 billion) in profits on Greek bonds from national central banks in the region. The IMF’s contribution of 1.8 billion euros is due in August, said Stournaras.
“It was quite a difficult agreement,” he said. “We worked around the clock” in recent weeks to make the deal possible, he said. But it comes at the price of the firing of thousands of public workers, almost all of them in lower-grade pay scales or up through the ranks of teachers and municipal police officers, while Parliament workers and managers have been exempted for now.
Greece has missed all its projections of revenues as harsh austerity measures in return for the bailouts have cut spending by consumers deeply and brought in fewer taxes than expected despite the big hikes.
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