The cuts proposed to Stournaras by ministers

The expenditure cutting plan, which will be presented to political the leaders by Finance minister Yannis Stournaras tomorrow, provides great upsets in the income of millions of wage earners. The meetings he had with his counterparts on Monday began to shape the list of measures that should lead to savings of 11.5 billion euros until 2015.

Pensions

The ministry of Labour is now being called "the weightlifter" in the effort to cut expenditure, ranking first in the proposing of measures to cut up to 4 billion euros. It will propose the following measures among others:

-    maximum pension with a 2,400-euro cap
-    cuts in double pensions
-    further decrease of supplementary pensions
-    decrease or cut of lump sum (depending on service years)
-    elimination of all social benefits and replacement with a single one to be given based on income and property criteria

If implemented, these measures might bring 2-2.5 billion euros.

Public sector

The ministries of Finance and Administrative Reform have the following in the works:

-    wage cuts in SOEs and organizations, with fewer days of work to avoid layoffs
-    further decrease of benefits
-    30% decrease in State structure
-    closure or merger of more than 250 organizations
-    closure of general administrations and administrations of ministries
-    reduction of operating costs
-    closure of municipal enterprises
-    increase of municipal taxes

The Interior ministry is examining other "patents", as they have characteristically been called; among other things, in cases of land expropriation they are looking at the opportunity for people to receive a bigger building ratio, or other privileges for their remaining land or the one they are given, but always subject to environmental and other conditions for the region, rather than a compensation in cash that the municipalities cannot afford to pay.

Ministry officials will also propose to increase the fees paid by immigrants for a residence permit, from which the Greek government collects 50-70 million euros each year.