Athens is bracing itself for the return of the once-vilified Troika officials representing the country’s creditors — European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. After the radical left SYRIZA’s failure to send a “special invitation” to technocrats of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), only the EU branch of these technocrats will be in the country on Friday.
The reason for the visit is to start talks on a proposed 86-billion-euro bailout, the third emergency funding program for Athens since 2010. Representatives’ return to Greece comes a day after EU-dictated reforms were passed through Parliament and marks a clear defeat for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who won the January 25 election by pledging to never allow these inspectors to set foot in Greece ever again, in an official capacity, at least.
Now, the triumvirate is back, however, it is not guaranteed that their presence will unlock funds for Greece before August 20, even with the reforms, more taxes and additional austerity measures that have been passed through Greek Parliament.