Athens. Greece seemed to go in the run up to a basic agreement with creditors and technical advances are expected after the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, look for political support Germany and France.
Throughout the weekend there was no official information, but some interviews and leaks that suggest that in recent days really was progress in negotiations with the so-called “institutions” that integrate “troika” (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund).
According to local media, the Greek government drafted a first draft agreement, which would include the points on which there is consensus and that Tsipras was to present to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French President Francois Hollande by teleconference.
Hollande and Merkel are due to meet in Berlin today with President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker meeting could serve to give political impetus to the agreement with Athens
Following a meeting of the government’s economic team that lasted more than eight hours on Saturday, official sources spoke of a “general improvement in critical issues” , but acknowledged that there were still some points that need to be clarified.
According to information from the Greek news agency Amna not confirmed officially, in the negotiations in Brussels there is convergence of views on the thorny issue of value added tax (VAT), restricting early retirement and the gradual unification of the pension funds.
The debate on VAT had become one of the key issues in recent days, as the partners had proposed a reform of revenue that includes annual revenues of 1,800 million euros, while the Athens government offered a proposal that ensured only raise about 800 million euros.
The Interior Minister Nikos Vutsis as saying Saturday in an interview with private television station Skai that the government hoped to finally achieve an agreement this week, hinted that this commitment will postpone some of the election promises of Syriza.
“Some parts of our program could be delayed six months or maybe a year,” Vutsis.
deferred Promises
The minister gave no details on what might be the measures would be delayed but in recent weeks several ministers ahead of the controversial property tax should be abolished this year in its current format, shall remain in force until the next. Moreover, among the promises, according to media, may not apply for now would be to eliminate the tax of solidarity created at the outbreak of the crisis, or to restore the exempt tax base 12 000 euros a year (currently paid taxes from the first dollar of income).
The purpose of Athens is the minimum commitment that can be closed in the coming days will serve to facilitate the disbursement -at least partially shaped 7,200 Rescue million and also includes a reference to a future debt restructuring and an investment package.
To Tsipras these are two crucial points so that Greece can return to growth and two also key messages to to obtain the support of Syriza in a parliamentary vote. Tsipras needs to reassure its ranks not only on this issue but also regarding other decisions that the government has taken in recent weeks and have not liked by many Members of Syriza.
One It was the appointment of Lambis Tagmatarjis as CEO of the new public broadcaster (ERT), which garnered harsh criticism from the unions of the public body, as well as deputies of Syriza to be someone who has already played that role for the government Social George Papandreou, signer of the first rescue.
The most recent protest, this time even by some members of the government itself, was against the appointment of the social democratic party Pasok exmember, Elena Panariti, representing Greek at the International Monetary Fund. Panariti, appointed by the Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, had worked at the World Bank and as advisor to the president of Peru Alberto Fujimori.
with a two-speed Europe
Proposal. The French Minister of Economy, Emmanuel Macron, who will present this week with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, proposals to the European debate, advocates a two-speed Europe, a more integrated with the countries of the single currency, and another that includes the rest. Macron made his argument in an interview published yesterday by Le Journal du Dimanche.
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