Gov’t sacrifices salaries and pensions in return for promises

Greece will accept cuts in salaries and pensions in return for Europeans’ promises of a debt relief debate

The Greek government is being prepared to retreat so as to put an end to the ongoing negotiations and accept cuts in salaries and pensions in return for Europeans’ promises of a debt relief debate which could take months, while any decision to be taken will concern the period after 2023.

According to information, yesterday’s Eurogroup meeting confirmed that the negotiation on the new measures of 9 billion euros is at a breaking point. In order to reach an agreement in the following Eurogroup meetings is to see whether the additional measures of 3.6 billion euros will be finalized and voted now or the government will present a draft of cuts. However, the lenders refuse to give carte blanche to the government on what measures to take and when, but instead they are asking salaries and pensions cuts.

On the other hand, though, there should be also an agreement on the debt sustainability in order to complete the program review and provide the next tranche. But, in order to achieve that 19 member states of the euro zone, IMF and ECB must agree on many parameters (eg the amount of loan payments as a percentage of GDP, interest rates, etc).