Discussion on Greek program to be short at today’s Eurogroup

IMF’s participation in the Greek program will also be discussed with Poul Thomsen attending the meeting

The discussion on the Greek program is expected to be short and no decision will be taken at Thursday’s Eurogroup.

Following Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos’ contacts with his EU counterparts, the Eurogroup will discuss briefly Greece’s proposal on the social security reforms.

According to a senior EU official, the government’s proposal for social security reforms is “ambitious”, but to the extent that the proposal provides for the merger of social security funds, it constitutes a “big step forward”.

Moreover, the 19 eurozone Finance Ministers will refer to the first review of the Greek program which is expected to start at the beginning of next week with the arrival of the institutions’ representatives in Athens. Other issues to be discussed include the restructuring of the public administration, the privatizations fund, the 2016 fiscal targets and the rationalization of the energy market.

Also, the head of the IMF European Department Poul Thomsen will also participate in the Eurogroup meeting to discuss on the participation of the IMF in the Greek program.

According to a eurozone official, the IMF will be able to decide on further disbursements after the first review is concluded and an agreement at staff level among all institutions is reached.

Then an analysis on the sustainability of the debt that will pave the way for measures for debt’s settlement would be possible.