Greece is rushing to complete the bailout program review by April 13 so that the government can start discussing debt easing during the meeting of euro zone finance ministers April 15-17.
Athens needs to close five pending issues before that date. Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos is optimistic that the review will be completed by mid-April.
In today’s (Friday) Euro Working Group by teleconference, the fundamentals of Greece’s pending issues will be discussed. On the April 7 EWG session Greece will be the main topic of discussion and the progress of negotiations will be assessed.
On Thursday, Greece sent the official results of the 2015 budget to the European Commission. The figures show a primary surplus of 0.2 percent for 2015 while the projection was a 0.25 percent primary deficit. This will give Greece leverage in the negotiations for the 2018 budget targets. Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis will present a recap of negotiations of the past 10 days between technical teams.
The five issues that remain pending are:
On taxation, both sides agreed that 9,100 euros is the threshold for non-taxable annual incomes. What remains is taxation on real estate properties, rents and, especially, the single property tax (ENFIA) as there is a 350-million-euro fiscal gap.
Security funds is the tough issue, as creditors disagree with raises in contributions and insist on pension cuts and a minimum national pension.
On bad loans, the Greek government tries to protect primary households from foreclosure, with creditors disagreeing on many specific issues.
Regarding the establishment of a privatization fund, both sides have agreed on the structure, the management and what properties and assets will be transferred to the fund.
Finally, on budgetary issues, both sides have agreed that measures worth 5.5 billion euros are needed so that Greece reaches a 3.5 percent primary surplus in 2018. What remains open is the sources of the revenues.
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