BERLIN (MNI) – Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said
today that Athens must fully implement promised reforms in order to
receive further aid from its official creditors.
In a short written statement after a meeting with his Greek
counterpart, Giannis Stournaras, Schaeuble said the most important thing
is that “Greece must fully implement its obligations.”
Schaeuble reiterated that the report of the Troika, whose members
are expected to arrive in Athens on Saturday, will be ready in October.
Based on that report, the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund
will decide whether the debt-choked country is eligible to receive its
next tranche of bailout loan money, worth E31.5 billion.
The meeting of the two finance ministers lasted about two hours,
during which the situation of the Greek economy was discussed. Schaeuble
agreed to have another bilateral meeting with Stournaras on the
sidelines of the informal Eurogroup next week in Cyprus.
As MNI reported earlier Tuesday, Stournaras briefed his German
counterpart on the measures the government in Athens will be taking in
order to bring the deficit down to 3% of GDP, and on the privatization
process.
A senior Greek government official told MNI that during the meeting
Stournaras planned to raise Athens’ request for a 2-year extension on
the deficit-cutting program, from 2014 to 2016, which the government
says is necessary because of the extremely deep and prolonged recession
gripping Greece.
–Athens Bureau; apapamiltiadou@marketnews.com
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