Although Greek government officials have optimistically commented that an agreement with the country’s creditors by the 20th of August is possible, Germany tabloid Bild cites German officials who dispute such a possibility.
According to the German tabloid report the new agreement will have to be approved by the Greek Parliament, as well as six other Eurozone Houses of Parliament, including that of Germany. With Greek PM Alexis Tsipras forced to take controversial austerity measures, Bild argues that he may chose to postpone the agreement until October, by which point snap election are rumored to be called.
The German tabloid claims that it is likely that a new bridge-loan of 5 billion euros will be granted to Greece in order to make payments towards the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director for Northern Europe at the IMF Thomas Östros told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter that the Fund would decide whether it will participate in the third bailout program during the upcoming fall. Mr. Östros explained that there is a risk that the new program may merely postpone the provision of a final solution for Greece, unless painful measures are adopted.
Furthermore he urged the Greek government to take ownership of the reforms that need to be taken. He also noted that the public sector is insufficient, corruption is a major issue that needs to be resolved and that the Greek pension system is exceedingly expensive.
