Germany Says Greek Aid May Be Delayed

The ink’s not even dry yet on the latest deal Greece signed with its international lenders to keep rescue aid coming in return for more reforms but after the European Commission warned the country may already be slipping,  Germany’s Deputy Finance Minister said in a letter to the German Parliament that more loans could be delayed.
The Greek government is racing to complete a list of reforms demanded by the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) before it release an ongoing series of payments as part of a second series of $173 billion in a second bailout. Greece spent a first worth $152 billion without making a dent it its crushing debt and is almost totally reliant on foreign aid.
Eurozone finance ministers agreed earlier this month to unlock 4 billion euros ($5.28 billion) in financing due to the Greek government but only if Greece starts firing public workers and picks up the pace of long-delayed privatization. Further payments are supposed to come from the International Monetary Fund in August and then from Greece’s euro-zone partners again in October.
In his letter to the Bundestag, Deputy Finance Minister Steffen Kampeter cited the commission as saying Greece has completed 17 of 22 measures required, but the commission has not yet been able to inspect five remaining actions. Germany is the biggest contributor to Greek bailouts but also has insisted on harsh austerity measures.
Kampeter said the commission would update the German government. There was no comment from the European Commission. The Eurozone working group, made up of senior treasury officials from the 17 member states, was to hold a conference call on July 24 to discuss Greece’s progress in implementing the 22 measures.
According to an EU source, the uncompleted measures are “mainly procedural steps” which could be wrapped up in time for the call, which could make everything moot. “I don’t think it’s serious,” the person said of the likely delay. Greece and the Troika have played constant games of cat-and-mouse with warnings of loan delays followed by promises of more repaid reforms that aren’t met followed by more warnings of loan delays and reform delays which always end with Greece getting whatever it needs to stay in the Eurozone.
The German finance ministry has set a new date of July 29 for the German parliament’s budget committee to give its opinion on the latest findings of the Troika. The IMF is planning to deal with the subject on the same day, the letter said.