Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and his eurozone counterparts expressed their determination at the last Eurogroup to complete the fourth and last bailout evaluation by 21 June.
In an interview with SYRIZA’s Sto Kokkino radio, Tsakalotos said there are disagreements on how to deal with debt relief as Germany’s new finance minister, Olaf Scholz, needs more time to be briefed.
Germany has long said that decisions on debt relief will come only after the completion of the current programme.
Tsakalotos cited buying back higher interest rate IMF loans and extending the payback of EU inter-state loans as debt relief measures.
As for the Greek home-grown development plan – which must meet all existing commitments to creditors – Tsakalotos said he plans to include in it the minimum wage (there has been talk of a possible hike) and the restoration of collective bargaining contracts, which were abolished by the bailout memorandums.
Still, he said markets and creditors should know there will be no surprises.
Reforms to expedite the trial of judicial cases and to streamline the bureaucracy are also part of the growth plan.
He also indicated that the government will not at this time seek to postpone or revoke pension cuts that are scheduled to take effect on 1 January, 2019.
As regards post bailout supervision, Tsakalotos said the quarterly visits from creditors will not be bailout-style evaluations with preconditions, but that supervision will be stricter than that in other post-bailout countries – Cyprus, Ireland and Portugal.
Tsakalotos indicated that creditors will have less of a say on how targets are met than during the bailout era, and that they will be supervising the implementation of major reforms.
