European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici continued his stepped up contacts and appearances in the Greek capital on Tuesday by leaving open the possibility of lower 2018 fiscal targets demanded of the Greek government after 2018, when the current bailout program ends.
European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici continued his stepped up contacts and appearances in the Greek capital on Tuesday by leaving open the possibility of lower 2018 fiscal targets demanded of the Greek government after 2018, when the current bailout program ends.
Speaking to reporters at the European Commission's liaison office in Athens, the economic and financial affairs commissioner said the third memorandum's provisions are still in force, whereas the targets may change after 2018, when the program ends.
Μoscovici later met with Greek Labor Efi Ahtsioglou, with government sources pointing to the thorny issue of collective bargaining in the labor sector as dominating talks.
The issue has emerged as a major source of disagreement between the IMF and the Greek side, with the former opposing a mandatory re-institution of sector wide negotiations between social partners, as least for the next few years, as the prescribed manner to reach income and work conditions agreements.
The leftist Greek government has repeatedly warned that it will not accept a regime in the sector lying outside the European acquis or contravening International Labor Organization (ILO) standards.
Moscovici has gone on record as saying that the Commission is also in favor of protecting the European social model in the labor sector.