Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greek debt must be rendered sustainable, US Treasury Secretary Lew says

[02] Greek current account deficit down in Jan-May

[03] Court rejects Tsochatzopoulos' early release request

[01] Greek debt must be rendered sustainable, US Treasury Secretary Lew says

In a meeting with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Lew did not refer to any details on how debt can be reduced or whether primary surplus targets must be cut as of 2019. On primary surpluses, he said "the issue of the targets must be solved between Greece and its partners."

He stressed, however, the importance of a realistic plan and targets that can be met. In an environment with high debt and surpluses, it is difficult to achieve debt sustainability, Lew noted adding that debt restructuring is the "key".

The US Treasury Secretary said that that there are a lot of ways to achieve sustainable debt and a lot of different policies, but they must all end up to the long-term sustainability of the debt. As he said, the repayment of the debt must be compatible with each country's fiscal condition. "At the end of the course, Greece should be able to repay its debt and achieve growth rates," he stated.

He also said that he is in favour of the IMF participation in the Greek programme as it "brings perspective and it is also a very important partner although the relation causes tension."

Before the discussion on debt, Greece should continue the implementation of those agreed with the institutions, he said and referred specifically to the privatisations, the opening the goods and services markets and the "bad" loans.

He underlined that the significant progress in the negotiations with the institutions will greatly affect the measures to be taken on debt adding that "I urge all sides to be flexible so that the negotiations are successful. We need to get out of the vicious cycle of negotiations related to the crisis."

Lew praised the government for the implementation of the reforms (which he described important as Greece needed to build from the beginning the foundations for a strong country), the progress achieved and the signs that the economy is exiting recession and is heading towards growth. He also referred to Greece's important geostrategic position.

On his part, Tsakalotos thanked Lew on his efforts to help Greece in order solutions to be found. "We also discussed several issues regarding the Greek programme, the difficulties and the opportunities of the Greek economy, the impact of the Brexit and the developments in our neighboring country," he added.

[02] Greek current account deficit down in Jan-May

The central bank, in a monthly report, said this development reflected an improvement in the balances of primary and secondary income, while the balance of goods and services deteriorated slightly. The balance of goods recorded an 1.2 billion euros improvement in the five-month period, reflecting an improvement in the balance of fuel (as a result of a decline in oil prices). Exports of goods, excluding fuel and vessels, and imports recorded minor changes, with exports of goods -excluding fuel in fixed prices- rising by 1.1 pct in the January-May period.

The services surplus shrank by 1.3 billion euros in the five-month period as net transport income fell significantly. Net income from travel services also fell reflecting an 1.3 pct decline tourist arrivals in the country, while income fell 6.2 pct in the same period.

Primary income balance recorded a surplus of 1.0 billion euros, up 715 million from the same period last year helped by a decline in net payments on interest, dividends and earnings and salaries. The current account and capital balance recorded a deficit of 42.8 billion euros, down 1.1 billion from the same period in 2015, while the financial transactions balance recorded an increase in foreign direct investments of 545 million euros.

[03] Court rejects Tsochatzopoulos' early release request

The request was tabled on Wednesday by Tsochatzopoulos' lawyer. In his request the former minister had cited his advanced age as well as health issues.

A prosecutor told the court that Tsochatzopoulos may commit new money laundering activities if released.

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