Greek officials in negotiations with the top representatives of institutional creditors, the “quartet”, reportedly have the documentation confirming the clearance of state arrears to private sector contractors, suppliers and other businesses. The latter is a standing condition in order to free up the entire 2.8-billion-euro sub-tranche in bailout loans left over from the first review of the Greek program last spring.
The loan money is expected to be disbursed on Oct. 24, according to reports.
Bank of Greece (BoG) figures for the first nine months of 2016 show payments by the state to the private sector exceeding two billion euros (2.029 billion euros), surpassing the foreseen target.
Supplying evidence of a clearance of arrears was a request made by Eurozone finance ministers to the Greek side during a Eurogroup meeting on Oct. 9, with a deadline of Oct. 24 cited, when a EuroWorking Group meeting is set to convene.
The initial target, dating to May 2016, called for Athens to pay off at least 1.8 billion euros in arrears, out of a total of 7.5 billion euros it received after the completion of the first review of the Greek program (third bailout).
Although the figures “added up” and will be conveyed to EZ finance ministers, the move at the time was viewed as revealing continuing reservations over the leftist Greek government’s assurances of meeting targets and commitments.
