A bill containing all 15 “prior actions” demanded by creditors ahead of a conclusion of the second review of the Greek program (third bailout) as well as its ratification is expected by the end of September.
At stake, besides a continuing normalization of a still recession-plagued Greek economy, is disbursement of a bailout loan sub-tranche of 2.8 billion euros. Of the figure, 1.7 billion euros are expected to cover the state’s arrears towards the private sector, something that is expected for early October, assuming that all goes according to the government’s plan.
In terms of the all-important debt relief front, on which the embattled leftist Greek government has based much of its remaining political capital, nary a change was observed on the part of European creditors, which have repeatedly been lukewarm to any such prospect, as opposed to the IMF.
According to reports, EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici’s side reiterated that the second review of the Greek program must first be completed before any talk on debt relief, a period that points to November. Whatever specific measures would probably include Greece’s inclusion in the ECB’s quantitative easing program.
In a later statement out of Athens, government sources circulated that the issue of the former statistical bureau head, Andreas Georgiou, was not discussed in the meeting between Moscovici and three top Greek ministers.
Nevertheless, EU Commissioner Margaritis Schinas later announced that the issue of the ex-EL.STAT director’s prosecution in Greece will be discussed at the upcoming Eurogroup meeting on Sept. 9.
