By D. Hatzinikolas
Institutional lenders have reportedly asked the leftist Greek government for clarifications regarding the creation of a so-called “social solidarity fund”, which was announced by the Greek prime minister himself over the weekend during debate in Parliament over a second batch of austerity measures.
According to reliable information obtained by “N” in Brussels, institutions’ experts and EuroWorking Group officials expressed displeasure over Alexis Tsipras’ surprise announcement of a new fund to dispense social welfare spending.
The technocrats’ concerns were conveyed to the Greek finance ministry for further clarifications, reports state.
Tsipras made it clear on Sunday afternoon that whatever resources allocated by the new fund would emanate from money that exceeds the goals – repeatedly judged as too ambitious by the IMF – of primary budget surplus targets through 2018. The .ast year, in fact, has the Greek government committed to posting a 3.5-percent primary budget surplus as a percentage of GDP.
Nevertheless, according to government sources, a commitment by European leaders to finally conclude talks for the first review of the Greek program (third bailout) remains unchanged. The same sources said German Chancellor Angela Merkel said as such to Tsipras during their brief meeting in Istanbul on Monday.
