Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras, engaged in tough talks with the country’s international lenders, said after another round of negotiations on April 7 that he’s confident that Greece will soon get a delayed 2.8 billion euros ($3.64 billion) installment and that there will be no more pay cuts, tax hikes or slashed pensions.
He was less certain about whether the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) will insist on more structural reforms and the lenders are still insisting on the firing of 25,000 public workers and a faster pace of privatization before deciding whether to go ahead with the continuance of loans as part of a second bailout of $173 billion.
Greece has spent a first rescue package of $152 billion and struggling to pay that back as austerity measures have worsened the country’s recession, now in its sixth year, created a record unemployment rate of 27 percent and closed more than 68,000 businesses since the conditions were applied in 2010.
Stournaras said progress had been made in the talks he held after the envoys met with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. “I believe that we will reach an agreement in the next few days,” said the finance minister. “I can’t say how soon this will be because negotiations are ongoing.” He said there will be no details released until the talks are finished. Also on the table is a long-delayed bank recapitalization program.
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