Troika insists on layoffs and overdue loans

The troika representatives insist on their requirement for a complete program implementation and fulfillment of all obligations undertaken by Greece, in order to give their consent for the release of the March tranche.

 

The scheduled meeting with Greek premier Antonis Samaras for today was postponed to the coming days, as three major obstacles surfaced during the negotiations of the ministers with the troikans.

 

The first point of disagreement is the reduction of the public sector. The representatives of Greece’s lenders insist that there must be direct dismissals of civil servants. They will not accept that the personnel reduction targets will be met with the mobility program launched by the Ministry of Administrative Reform.

 

The second issue regards the settings for indebted households, prepared by the Ministry of Development and providing favorable regulations for overdue loans as low monthly payments, depending on the income of the borrower. Troika opposes such a possibility, arguing that it would require larger funds for the recapitalization of Greek banks.

 

The third issue is the government's intention to provide facilitations for taxpayers to repay outstanding debts to the State, and for businesses to the pension funds. The Greek government believes that increasing the number of installments will encourage more debtors to show up for repayment. The representatives of Greece’s lenders, however, are not convinced, arguing that this system is not efficient, insisting on strict penalties for those who do not pay.