European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attempted to provide a solutionĀ for an agreement between Greece and its international creditors, Greek Daily to Vima reported.
According to the report Juncker submitted the alleged proposal to Greece and all other parties involved on Monday evening. Although the European Commission did not confirm the existence of the proposal, the Financial Times confirmed the document noting that the EC president is trying to break the standoff in the negotiations.
The alleged plan envisions a deal with Greece that completely cuts out the International Monetary Fund and releases about ā¬5bn in aid to Athens from three different sources: the ā¬1.8bn remaining in the EUās portion of the current bailout; ā¬1.9bn in profits from Greek bonds purchased by the European Central Bank back in 2010; and another ā¬1.3bn or so in additional Greek bond profits the ECB will get in July.
In exchange, Greece would agree to adopt a relatively short list of economic reforms that are significantly narrower from those being sought by the IMF and a German-led group of hardliners within the eurozone.
List of Measures:
Ā· Implementing the VAT after the summer (possibly on the 1st of October), which includes an 18% rate for cash purchases, 15% for card transactions and a low 6.5% rate for certain products.
Ā· Withdrawing a 30% discount on the solidarity tax on incomes over 30,000
Ā· Maintaining the ENFIA real estate tax
Ā· Reevaluating the ‘zero deficit’ clause in supplementary pensions, as part of the overall discussion on the sustainability of the Greek pension system in the autumn
Ā· Reevaluate collective labor agreements issue, in light of the ILO’s recent report on ‘better practices’ in the EU’s job market, the need to increase the Greek economy’s competitiveness and to tackle the major unemployment problem.
Ā· Establish the General Secretariat of Public Revenue as an independent authority
Ā· Create a Fiscal Council, that will also operate as an independent authority
Ā· Take a series of measures to address the humanitarian crisis ā within the framework of the Juncker package ā and create a safety net for vulnerable social groups
Aims of the program
The EC’s list of proposals outlines the fiscal targets for the next four years, which are as follows:
Ā· 2015: 0.75% of GDP primary surplus
Ā· 2016: 2% of GDP primary surplus
Ā· 2017: 3.5% of GDP primary surplus
Ā· 2018: 3.5% of GDP primary surplus
The European Commissionās spokeswoman responsible for economic issues did not confirm the report on Twitter:
Can’t confirm media reports on @EU_Commission /Juncker proposal on GR. Not aware of such proposal. Working towards comprehensive deal.
ā Annika Breidthardt (@A_Breidthardt) May 18, 2015
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