Greece’s Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis met with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble on Wednesday on the sidelines of the OECD World Forum in Berlin. The two men’s talk focused on the progress of Greece’s adjustment program.
“The progress in reforms in Greece, how we’re moving forward, how the Greek economy is doing and also the fact that the program is ending at the end of the year so that we have to form a new relationship from January 1 were things we discussed. The German side understands that we have to find a solution soon, to delineate this relationship,” said Mr. Hardouvelis in an interview with public TV channel NERIT, adding that he’s optimistic that Germany will ansist in the transition for the post-bailout era because Schäuble is pro-European and wants to have a strong Euro area.
Mr. Hardouvelis said that both men tried to find a mutually accepted solution for “the next day”. A finance ministry official told journalists that the two men didn’t discuss a third bailout package for Greece but did talk about forging a “new relationship” in the post-memorandum era.
Mr. Hardouvelis said that the upcoming review wasn’t discussed during the meeting. The troika’s technical teams are due to return to Athens on November 4. However the Euroepan Commission, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have stated that the government should make proposals on key unresolved issues, such as pension reforms, before they decide if there technical team should return. A finance ministry official told journalists that Greece’s health insurance is viable and that the troika has not requested new cuts to pensions.
