EU ministers to discuss Greece [UPDATE] - The Best from Greece

Posted on: 25/Nov/2011

Sixth tranche of aid expected to top talks of German, Dutch and Finn as EU officials appear upbeat

The disbursement of a sixth tranche of rescue funding for Greece is expected to top the agenda of talks between the finance ministers of Germany, The Netherlands and Finland – Wolfgang Schaueble, Jan Kees de Jager and Jutta Urpilainen -- scheduled to take place in Berlin on Friday.

The talks came as European Union leaders are said to be considering to a letter sent to Greece’s foreign creditors by conservative New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras confirming his party’s support for a second EU debt deal for Greece but calling for the “modification” of certain policies.

A final decision on the disbursement of the 8-billion-euro installment which Greece needs to pay public sector salaries and pensions through December is expected to be taken at the next Eurogroup summit in Brussels on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund, one of Greece’s three foreign lenders, issued a statement late on Thursday welcoming ND’s support for the key objectives and policies of Greece’s economic reform program, which was agreed in Brussels on October 26 as part of a deal foreseeing another 130 billion euros in loans and a 50 percent writedown on Greek debt. The IMF also welcomed ND’s commitment to “ensuring that any changes to policies that it might suggest will be consistent with the basic framework of the program” – a statement interpreted by sources in the conservative party as a step toward the adoption of alternative policies that Samaras has been promoting.

Officials of the European Commission and the European Central Bank, Greece’s other two creditors, have yet to comment publicly on Samaras’ letter and its implications for the release of the crucial funding.

But on Friday Reuters quoted unnamed euro zone officials as saying that EU finance ministers are likely to approve the next tranche of emergency loans for Greece on Tuesday.

"This will be third time that we will decide on the sixth disbursement, so I guess it is third time lucky,» one euro zone official said. «I understand we should be in a position to acknowledge the receipt of commitments in a written form by the main political forces in Greece,» the official said. «We have to look at it, what it means on substance -- the fat lady has not sung yet, but if all goes well we should be in a position to agree on that."

A second euro zone official cautioned that while Samaras supported the goals of the reforms in his letter, he distanced himself from some of the methods to achieve them. But the official also noted that cross-party agreement on the precise ways of achieving the targets of the new Greek programme was not required for the release of the tranche and said that, with the letter, «it looks much better than before».

The likely release of the money will not end Greece's problems, however: Athens, the euro zone, the International Monetary Fund and private bondholders still have to put together the next Greek financing programme, only a rough outline of which has so far been agreed.

Euro zone leaders said on October 27 that the new program would be put in place by the end of the year, but some euro zone officials expressed doubt that deadline could be met. «No, I would be surprised. It still needs some work,» the first euro zone official said. [Kathimerini, Reuters]

source: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_13907_25/11/2011_416450

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