By N. Bellos
"Close but no cigar" more-or-less summed up the Greek government's efforts to secure a next tranche of bailout money from European creditors, with Athens falling short by two "prior actions", as ascertained at Monday's Eurogroup meeting.
Eurozone finance ministers on Monday were briefed that the Tsipras government had, indeed, fulfilled 108 out of 110 "key deliverables" demanded by creditors. However, commencing universal electronic auctions for foreclosed real estate and foot-dragging in terms of issuing necessary licenses to start a landmark privatization (the Helleniko land development project) were judged by Eurozone finance ministers as not completed.
At stake is 5.7 billion euros in low-interest loans for Greek state coffers.
The two remaining, and unfulfilled, obligations are viewed as imperative for the current bailout program's success. E-auctions are considered as potent tool in systemic banks' arsenal to reduce non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country. The traditional court-room or notary office setting has been plagued by a slow-moving bureaucracy, abstentions by notaries' associations, and, over the past year, by concerted efforts on the part of activists to block auctions.
The Hellenic land development project in southeast coastal Athens is considered a "litmus test" for the current leftist-rightist coalition government's determination to push through major FDI-funded privatizations that are specifically cited in memorandum agreements.
According to Community sources in Brussels on Monday, the lack of a "green light" for disbursement of the tranche is also due to pressure exerted by European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi, who has pressed for a normalization and acceleration of auctions of foreclosed properties in the country.
In terms of e-auctions, Eurogroup ministers acknowledged that progress has been made, although the number of auctions held so far and their geographic scope is limited.
The same sources also referred to a more "heated" exchange of words in the chamber between Draghi and Greek FinMin Euclid Tsakalotos, but before the actual session began.
Asked afterwards, new Eurogroup president Mario Centeno merely said that "dynamic conversations" occur from time to time, but without anything of substance to report. He added that a new review will show whether or not e-auctions have fully been implemented throughout the country.
In accentuating the positive, Centeno later Tweeted that " Good news on #Greece. They acted on all agreed measures & #eurogroup is now turning to the final review of the #ESM programme. The reform agenda should outlive the programme."
He estimated that the entire process will be completed within the next few weeks.
Along the same lines, EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, one the more pro-Athens leaders in the EU, declined to offer details on the Draghi-Tsakalotos row, merely adding that the substance lies in the fact that Greece has done much over the recent period.
Moscovici said a decision by Greece's Council of State (CoS) on a relevant presidential decree for the Helleniko project is expected by the end of the month.
A compliance report by the EU also recognizes the fact that a timetable for "prior actions" often depends on three parties, and is not completely within the control of Greece's executive branch.
