Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos presented to his colleagues Friday a growth plan that the Greek government will deliver after the end of the financial assistance in August — an attempt to give creditors and markets a guarantee that the country will keep reforming the economy even without external help.
He told CNBC about the specific details of his growth plan: “We (have) a strong social program because it is our program now and it has to be credible to Greece society so there’s an increase in the minimum wage and return of collective bargaining.”
“And at the same time we have indicated three priorities for growth, because if you have 15 priorities you don’t have any priorities,” he said, outlining that the three points of focus will be speeding up reforms in the judicial system, reforming the public administration and improving the business environment.
However, the sooner there’s a deal on the debt issue the better. Stretching it out until near the end of the deadline might complicate disbursements from the IMF, due to technical reasons. During the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings last week, IMF officials said that time is running short for the institution to be able to disburse money to Greece.
The IMF said last year that it would provide Greece with 1.6 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in funding, after an agreement on debt. It’s not the money in itself that Greece needs, but the credibility stamp that the IMF brings to the program.
Benoit Coeure, executive board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), told reporters Friday that the clearer the debt measures are, the easier it will be for Greece to regain market access.
Be the first to comment