Summit among Greece’s international creditors. Teleconference met the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, the ECB, Mario Draghi, the director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, and the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem. The heads of the four institutions are compared on the proposals for reform presented by the government greek and on the request for a program to support the ESM.
Two letters of the reform plan, signed by a Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the economy minister Tsakalotos Euclid, and the plan itself: are these documents sent to institutions of the former Troika yesterday before midnight. Tsipras told Juncker, Draghi and Lagarde that the plan is also the result of the negotiations in recent months, and it shows that the country confirms the will to remain in the euro zone. Tsakalotos instead announces that, in the immediate, Parliament will vote from next week the pension reform and the tax authorities and the statistical office to make it more independent. It also confirms that the target budget will be reviewed in the light of the worsening situation, with the aim to arrive at 3.5% of surplus only in 2018.
The new cards put on the table by Tsipras, asked creditors to show you really want to reform Greece from top to bottom, they changed the game: now the agreement is possible and is demonstrated by the various statements of representatives of government and politicians. The German chancellor, however, is cautissima. There is no doubt that Tsipras has moved important steps towards the positions of the Euro Group, the International Monetary Fund and the ECB: on pensions, on the quality of fiscal policy and increases in VAT on the control of public entities, in part on the market work, on privatization. The basic questions relate to three points: the specific assessment of the proposed measures and their economic impact, the size and conditions of the requested loan (53.5 billion for three years), the reliability of the government on the implementation of the measures. If tonight’s parliament greek Tsipras will support the plan with priority actions and early next week will vote on certain laws (pensions and VAT), the agreement will no longer be uphill.
The proposed reforms of the greek government are “detailed”, but should be “examined in the content” of the institutions. This is the first comment of the President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem, posted last night on the plane from Athens. The EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF will have to check whether “the proposals are good and if you really take Greece out of the crisis.”
“We hope we do not meet again this Sunday: means that the agreement on Greece can also be done on Saturday by finance ministers. ” This was stated by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi after the meeting with the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. “I am more optimistic of the past” on the possibility of reaching an agreement for the
Greece, continued Renzi. “We work for this and can be closed by Sunday.” “We have to save Greece with the support of his government – he added – otherwise it is impossible.”
“Italy has lined up a series of reforms, after years Italy has considered the ‘Europe as a place to take the lesson, “Renzi continued after the meeting at Palazzo Chigi with the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. The Prime Minister, after listing the adopted reforms, stressed: “All this in a year. We’re doing the reforms at home, there is no country in Europe that has made so many reforms in such a short time. “
The French President, Francois Hollande, judges the Greek proposals” series and credible. ” Hollande said that the “program” delivered last night from Athens to its creditors shows the determination of Greece to remain in the euro zone. The head of state expressed his hope that the discussions will resume “with the will to conclude.”
“If by Sunday there will be an agreement on a new aid program for Greece will go towards Grexit with a program accompaniment “and humanitarian aid,” there is no third option, “Hollande stressed.
The new plan calls for tax cuts and 12 billion. Among the measures proposed, the farewell to pensions baby, surrender to the discount VAT for tourist islands, and the tax increase for owners and companies. A plan by 12 billion instead of the previous 8, on which the greek leaders seek consensus in Parliament as early as today.
The plan. Savings on pensions between 0.25 to 0.50% of GDP in 2015 and 1% from 2016 onwards, gradually cutting the baby pensions (creating disincentives) and raising the retirement age to 67 years by 2022.
Via the discount VAT to the islands by 2016, tax rate increased to 23% for restaurants and catering, and hotels at 13% is still expected as the proposed reforms Greek arrived Eurogroup. Cuts in defense rise instead of EUR 300 million by the end of 2016.
Then there is the tax increase on the operators, the tax on luxury goods (from 10 to 13%), of the enterprise (from 26% to 28%), but also the solidarity surcharge on income and, if necessary, of the tax on real estate after the cadastral revision.
“This morning Greece is closer to remain in the Euro than to get out. It will be very hard for Tsipras, because it will have to find a majority, but we will succeed, “said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberals at the European Parliament, speaking on Europe 1. For the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, spoke with harsh tones against Tsipras two days ago at the European Parliament, “it was clear that Greece would make proposals. There were no other choices. Otherwise it was the exit from the euro zone and it was a catastrophe. The Greeks would lose between 30 and 40 percent of their purchasing power. ”
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