Athens talks with the four institutions (EC, ECB, ESM and IMF) are at their most crucial stage. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister George Stathakis concluded negotiations with Greece’s quartet of creditors on Wednesday afternoon, however there are still a number of differences, such as the issue of the minimum wage.

After a week of talks, Athens and the European Commission point to an agreement and new loan by August 20.

Problem areas that need to be cleared up between Greece and creditors include:

– The minimum wage, abolition of the social solidarity pension fund (EKAS) and other privileges.

– Macroeconomic discussions begin on Thursday on a technical level.

Other loose ends that need to be tied up include:

– Non-serviceable loans, so-called “red loans”, that remain unpaid need to be examined. The government has put aside plans for a “bad bank” for such loans to end up in, but creditors have yet to agree with other proposals.

– The 50-billion-euro superfund of Greek assets still has a number of loose ends to be tied regarding its legality.

There is convergence on the following issues with both the government and Greece’s creditors having agreed upon:

– The recapitalization of banks within 2015 so that there is no danger of a bail-in or “haircut” to deposits though this still depends on the solutions concerning the “red loans”.

– Opening closed professions that are privy to licensing restrictions eg. solicitors, chemists, taxi drivers etc.

– In labor, a time chart for decisions to be implemented from October onwards has been chartered.

– In taxation, the government has agreed to changes for its plans for debt repayments in 100 installments as well as ways in which to combat smuggling.