eKathimerini — The Euro Working Group gave the green light on Friday for the completion of the third bailout review in principle, but property auctions are still causing concern as they are seen as crucial to determining the course of Greek banks and whether or not a new recapitalization will be required.
Aware of the continued unrest in Greece over foreclosures, the creditors decided to lift the pressure on the government by not tying one of the upcoming subtranches to unhindered property auctions.
The governments has exceeded its primary surplus targets so the loan tranche will be used to pay back debt that becomes due in the next few months, with part of it going towards a cash buffer to finance future loan repayments after the end of the programme.
The senior officials of the eurozone’s finance ministries agreed on Friday in a conference call that 89 out of the 113 prior actions have been implemented, and that the rest will have to be covered before the disbursement of the first subtranche, which is expected by mid-February.
The EWG also decided that the second subtranche will depend on the satisfactory execution of online auctions, as well as adequate progress in the state’s payment of overdue debts to taxpayers and suppliers.
Also on Friday Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, warned Athens that reforms are a process without a finish line and stressed that there remains a lot to be done.
Sources from Athens say that among the review’s milestones that Greece has not yet reached are the approval of the presidential decree for the development at Elliniko as well as certain regulations concerning the application of the clawback mechanism in healthcare and other technical amendments in energy, mining and social security.
A senior Finance Ministry source said the outcome of yesterday’s EWG was “favourable,” adding that it has opened the way for the completion of the third review at Monday’s Eurogroup.
