Greek Parliament officially closes for summer holidays on Thursday, but ministers are obliged to complete the agreement on time. The deal with Greece’s creditors must be approved by the Greek parliament by August 17 or 18 so that Greece can pay its 3.2-bn-euro dues to the European Central bank on August 20.
Negotiations will be continuous for the next ten to twelve days. The Greek government is optimistic as they believe that there are no major problems in order for an agreement to occur. Thus, there will be no need for another “smaller” agreement, in which creditors were supposed to give Greece the amount of money needed for the ECB to be paid.
Today is also a crucial day as a number of obstacles need to be overcome so the deal can be clinched. Measures of the new agreement are expected to be tough, especially as far as early retirement packages are concerned. The government’s goal is to come to an agreement that will give them the elasticity of corrective changes later.