Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-04-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Malta agreement lays foundations for return to normality for Greek workers, Tzanakopoulos says

[01] Malta agreement lays foundations for return to normality for Greek workers, Tzanakopoulos says

The government succeeded in laying the foundations for a gradual return to normality benefiting Greek workers, he added, while the agreement would have zero fiscal impact since each euro of additional austerity will be offset by one euro of measures easing the burdens.

He then noted that there is no confrontation with the German finance ministry or the German government concerning the Malta agreement, adding that all sides have agreed to the deal.

Asked about Greek debt, he said specifying the medium-term measures has been decided since the Eurogroup of May 24, 2016.

"Apart from being a request of the Greek government, it is also a precondition for the IMF, so it can participate in the Greek program. The IMF, whose participation is also demanded by the Greek government, has declared that if there's no specification of the measures that will be implemented after the end of the program on August 2018, the IMF cannot produce positive conclusions on debt sustainability, and you know that this is the prerequisite for its participation," he said.

Attacking the main opposition, Tzanakopoulos said that New Democracy had chosen to adopt a fully undermining stance during the negotiations, while its leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis "was demanding an unconditional surrender and promising more and more measures."

"The main opposition finds itself at a strategic impasse for the third time. Its plan for a 'left interlude' has been defeated once again," he said.

Tzanakopoulos noted that the government goal after Malta is still to achieve a comprehensive agreement, that also includes the medium-term measures for the debt and decided the size of primary surpluses in the years after 2018. Such an agreement, he added, would instill confidence in the Greek economy and allow the country to permanently exit supervision.

The spokesman also noted that the primary surplus targets for 2018 were absolutely achievable, since the surplus for the previous year was forecast to reach 3 pct, as opposed to a target of 0.5 pct.

Regarding labour issues, he noted that the government had managed to get an agreement that provided for a gradual restoration of the legal framework for collective bargaining and to end Greece's "unprecedented state of exception" from the European social acquis.

Outlining the road map going forward, Tzanakopoulos said that the institutions will return to Athens to complete the Staff-Level Agreement after the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting. A Eurogroup meeting will then approve the SLA and make specific the medium-term measures for easing Greece's debt, which will go into effect after the current programme ends in August 2018. He pointed out that the measures were a necessary condition in order for the IMF to decide on its participation in the Greek programme. Similarly, the European Central Bank (ECB) also considers it sine qua non in order to include Greece in its quantitative easing programme.

The spokesman also reiterated his belief that the any new measures will be approved by SYRIZA, adding that any disagreements were part of the democratic dialog.

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