Parliamentary discussion for the 2015 state budget that begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday has been overshadowed by discussion of the new fiscal measures that Greece is required to take by the troika of international creditors made of the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sources from the Finance Ministry state that the measures included in the Greek government’s e-mail to the troika have a preventative character, however these assurances aren’t enough to calm the situation.
If the troika agrees to the measures sent by the coalition government, there will be specific stirring in the government groups of the conservative New Democracy (ND) and socialist (PASOK) parties.
ND MP Jordan Tzamtzis pointed to a red line that the government mustn’e cross, including hikes to taxes for pharmaceuticals and books as well as changes to the debt settlement in 100 installments. Over the past few days, ND deputy Kostas Kontogeorgis and PASOK deputy Yiannis Koutsoukos warned against pension reduction. In his statements ND deputy Pavlos Voyatzis clarified that he won’t vote for a VAT tax hike for island regions.