Programme
Wise men proposals on labour market reforms give Ministry bargaining basis with lenders
The Labour Ministry published on Friday the recommendations of the international committee of experts’ report on labour issues. These include the committee’s conclusions on trade unions, mass layoffs, minimum wage and collective bargaining.
Tight schedule to approve multi-bill, tick off remaining milestones
MPs are to begin debating on Monday the multi-bill containing draft legislation that will conclude some of the prior actions Greece has to wrap up to secure its next bailout sub-tranche of 2.8 billion euros.
After Article IV consultations IMF says challenges remain, substantial debt relief is needed
Following the completion of the IMF mission visit to Athens on the Article IV consultation, the fund published on Friday afternoon its concluding statement with the preliminary findings.
After talks with lenders, Greece returns to list of tasks to secure next bailout payment
The discussions between the Greek government and the institutions that resumed last Monday concluded, as had been scheduled, on Friday and have left Athens with numerous matters to take care of in the coming days.
After calm summer, hectic September lies ahead for Greek government
Although August appears to be a relatively quiet month for the government, particularly compared to the previous months and last year, there is a list of 15 prior actions the government is supposed to implement by mid-September to receive the next aid tranche of 2.8 billion euros.
Finance Ministry says revenues beat revised target by 105 mln in July
In response to Wednesday’s press reports noting that net revenues in July fell short of their target by more than 500 million euros, the Finance Ministry (MoF) clarified via a non-paper that July revenues actually outperformed, but compared to a revised target.
IMF’s independent evaluation office identifies mistakes and challenges in Greece’s first programme
The IMF published on Thursday afternoon a report on the key findings and lessons from the IMF’s engagement in the Irish and Portuguese programmes and the first Greek programme. The report, by the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), concludes with a number of recommendations on improving the IMF’s effectiveness in the future.
Moscovici tries to kill discussion of primary surplus targets as easing of capital controls cleared
European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici sought to kill off the discussion about lowering Greece’s post-2018 primary surplus targets when he visited Athens on Monday.
Lenders flag up minimum wage, trade union law among issues to be examined in next review
In a 21-page report that was submitted by the institutions to the Labour Minister Giorgos Katrougalos at the end of June and was leaked by Greek daily Eleftheros Typos on Sunday, the country’s lenders detail their proposals on the labour market reforms, which would form the base of discussions in the context of the second programme review.
Technical MoU provides more detail on fiscal brake, arrears and privatisations
The technical memorandum of understanding (MoU) that supports the supplemental MoU, which was compiled after the completion of the first programme review, contains some interesting revelations on several issues related to the fiscal brake, arrears clearance and the state-owned entities that will be transferred to the new privatisation and investment fund.