MacroPolis

The first cut is the deepest? Greek pension reforms in context

By: Georgia Nakou

It is 5:59am on a Sunday morning. The host of the morning talk show, a man of near-pensionable age – a look he has affected for well over a decade – adopts an alarmed look. The caption screams “NEW PENSIONS MASSACRE”. Projected on the backdrop, a dense table of numbers several columns wide defies legibility, and several talking heads are lined up in a panel to argue vociferously and incoherently over how badly pensioners can expect to suffer from the latest spending cuts.

Multi-bill and MTFS heading to Parliament for conclusion of fourth review

The multi-bill containing the legislation that aims to wrap up the remaining prior actions is due to be submitted to Parliament on Friday along with the 2019-2022 Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy (MTFS) as Greece moves a step closer to completing the fourth review.

Two weeks left for Athens to settle last remaining prior actions

Thursday, June 14, is widely seen as the date by which the Greek government needs to have completed any legislative work related to the fourth review so that the lenders can reach an agreement on the remaining issues by the time the Eurogroup takes place a year later.

High expectations and landmarks on road to privatisations in 2018

Greece’s privatisation programme is a key component in the institutions and the Greek authorities’ growth projections as the asset development programme which includes direct sales, concessions, securitisations and other forms of monetisation is expected to contribute to boosting private investment.

Supplemental MoU sets out path for maintaining fiscal sustainability

A swift staff-level agreement (SLA) was reached between Greece and the institutions last Saturday and the details of the deal were revealed in the Supplemental Memorandum of Understanding (sMoU) was published by the European Commission on Thursday.

Concerns raised about next year's pensions cuts

Employees at Greece's main social security fund have raised the alarm regarding the extent to which pensions will be cut next year, when Greece is expected to trim its spending on retirees by 1 percent of GDP, or 1.8 billion euros.

Growth strategy sets out reform targets, broad policies for post-MoU era

Greek Parliament debated on Wednesday the holistic growth strategy compiled by the government as part of the commitments it had agreed at last summer’s Eurogroup, when the second review was concluded.

After unveiling growth plan, Athens has fourth review loose ends to tackle

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras outlined at a cabinet meeting on Monday the growth strategy for the post-programme era, confirming that this task has now been completed and that his government can focus on the other parts of the fourth review that need to be taken care of.

After fourth review SLA, build-up to May 24 Eurogroup begins

After Greece and the institutions reached a staff-level agreement on Saturday, attention is turning to the implementation of the fourth review’s prior actions and the discussion on debt relief and post-programme monitoring between the creditors.

Greece and creditors reach SLA - legislation of reforms and debt relief talks next

Greece and the institutions confirmed on Saturday that they have reached a staff-level agreement (SLA), which paves the way for a global agreement between all sides by June 21, the date targeted by Athens and the lenders.