Gov’t to table in Parliament one bill that includes automatic cuts, indirect taxes, NPLs

Government tries to close all pending issues to conclude the first review of the Greek program

The Greek government is in a hurry to prepare a bill that will include a set of measures in view of the Eurogroup meeting to take place on May 24 in order to close all pending issues that are still open and conclude the first review of the Greek program.

The government reassures that the bill will be tabled to Parliament according to “standard and not urgent procedures”. Voting these pending issues is a prerequisite for the completion of the evaluation, the disbursement of the next tranche and the beginning of the Greek debt adjustment process. The government stresses that the tranche will be disbursed by June, while regarding the debt issue it claims that it will be solved at next Eurogroup meeting or shortly after it.

According to the government plan and in the framework of those agreed with Greece’s lenders, the bill will include the new taxes or the tax hikes so as to add 1.8 billion euros in state’s budget until 2018.

The bill will include the new arrangements for the non-performing loans, the establishment of the mechanism for automatic cuts in salaries and pensions, as well as a provision for establishing a new asset development fund. The bill is expected to be tabled in the parliament in the next ten days.