Following a meeting with Premier Antonis Samaras, in which he briefed him about IMF’s decision on Friday to approve the disbursement of a 3.5 billion bailout loan tranche to Greece, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, when asked by journalists, refused to reveal whether or not he will retain his post after the forthcoming government reshuffle, noting that “these are issues dealt with by the prime minister”.

Stournaras stressed, that the IMF’s latest review on Greece – which was discussed by the fund’s board on Friday – “speaks well of Greece, recognising the government’s and the people’s efforts, foreseeing positive growth rates”.

The minister was quick to dismiss media reports that the IMF’s latest review estimates Greece’s “fiscal gap” at 7 billion euros.

“They are making the same mistake they were making some time ago, with the European Commission review. They are adding numbers that cannot be added, because they are already aggregates,” he noted.

On another question about tax reduction, he replied, “As long as fiscal targets are being exceeded, there will always be room for reducing the tax burden”.