Speeding up the implementation of the Medium Term Economic Programme and absolute respect for the scheduled time table: Greek Premier George Papandreou yesterday asked his government for this during a meeting of the relevant government commission. Meanwhile, various economic circles in Greece have expressed doubts on the part of the Programme that regards privatizations, from which the State expects to cash around 50 billion euros by the end of 2012. According to the new Memorandum, the Finance Ministry will have to raise five billion euros from sales of State and public company properties to private parties. Of this sum, 1.7 billion has to be cashed by the end of September, the remaining 3.3 billion by the end of 2011. ”This will not be easy in the middle of a recession and with property prices collapsing,” writes website Protothema, which quotes sources in the Finance Ministry. However, time is running out for the government for the institutional reforms that are included in the agreement Greece has signed with representatives of the ”troika” (International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank).
Interior Minister Haris Castanidis has pointed out that the bill on the referendum will be ready by the end of July, at the scheduled government commission meeting. The Minister said that the government wants to organise a series of important referendums on political and social questions, like the reduction of the number of MPs and public funding to parties.
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