IMF backs Greece's primary surplus case

The Finance Ministry expects that negotiations over the reduction of the primary surplus target will begin upon the submission of the medium-term fiscal plan in April or May, which could last up until the fall, when the first 2021 draft budget is to be tabled in Parliament.

The issue, one of the most delicate matters in talks with the eurozone creditors, was also on the table at Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' meeting on Tuesday with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. Mitsotakis asked for and received the Bulgarian official's support as lower primary surpluses have been the Fund's fixed position recently; it remains to be seen how this support will be implemented in practice.

For the time being the Europeans appear reserved, with Germany saying informally that Greece should not raise the issue because Berlin would have a hard time...