EU/IMF/ECB officials pinpointed both progress and delay in the implementing of the fiscal program that Greece follows, while they said that the country must proceed with large-scale privatizations, according to a statement.
“The program is broadly on track stabilizing the economy but serious challenges exist for the creation of fiscal sustainability,” Servaas Deroose, European Commission Mission Chief said at a joint press conference in Athens.
Greece’s international lenders said that the fourth loan aid installment of EUR15bn will be released, with the European Union providing EUR10.9mn and the International Monetary Fund EUR4.1bn.
The troika officials stressed that Greece must commit to a massive EUR50bn privatization program to be completed by 2015, EUR15bn of which should be secured in the period 2011-2012.
“This is a very ambitious program but we are at a critical juncture where we need to accelerate reforms. In some cases some things are not going as fast as expected due to technical complexity and social sensitivity,” said Poul Thomsen, IMF Mission Chief.
Klaus Masuch, the ECB Mission Chief, said the lenders were concerned about Greek banks’ heavy reliance on the ECB for liquidity. “This can only be a temporary solution, and they need to return to market funding over the medium term.”
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