The climate of negotiations between Greece and its international creditors appears to be improving as viewpoints converge. A joint statement by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, phone contact between Tsipras and his French counterpart Francois Hollande and another joint statement by the three institutions (EC, ECB and IMF) show that diplomatic efforts are fruitful. All sides are working for an agreement at the Eurogroup of May 11.
The thorny issues in negotiations continue to be social security and labor. It appears that the government has managed to put the brakes on creditors demands for cutbacks to pensions, however the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) is willing to intervene as long as poverty among higher age groups is averted. Government ‘red lines’ prevent cuts to basic pensions, however leave open the possibility for cuts to very high auxiliary pensions say sources.
In labor, there appears to be convergence on matters such as group contract negotiations that the government wants to bring back despite international creditors objections. Tsipras and Juncker “concurred on the role of a modern and effective collective bargaining system.”
Furthermore, Tsipras managed to gain Hollande’s agreement on matters concerning labor and social security.
In another positive development the EC, ECB and IMF released a statement on Greece:
The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund share the same objective of helping Greece achieve financial stability and growth.
The institutions continue to work closely together toward that goal.
All three institutions are working hard to achieve concrete progress on May 11.
Ask me anything
Explore related questions
