The draft law on social security reform was presented on Monday to the political leaders by Labour Minister Giorgos Katrougalos and then sent to the Institutions to be reviewed. Therefore, a tough month of negotiation talks is expected until we see the final law on social security reform which will be tabled to Parliament for approval.

According to sources, the main disagreement between the government and Greece’s lenders is the increase in social security contributions which was set at 1.5%.

The IMF, however, is expected to insist on its requirements and demands and it is very likely that social security issue will be used by IMF to put pressure on Europe, but also as an excuse to withdraw from the Greek program. Even though, this scenario is not a bad one, it could lead to a postponement of Greek debt debate, as Minister of Finance also admitted in an interview with Kathimerini newspaper.

Therefore, Greek government might say that the protection of the main pensions is a “red line” for Greece, but IMF has made it clear that it will not discuss any solution for the social security issue that solves the problem for the next 2-3 years while asking the government to suggest a 30-years solution.