Euclid Tsakalotos

Athens talks with the four institutions (EC, ECB, ESM and IMF) are at their most crucial stage. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister George Stathakis concluded negotiations with Greece’s quartet of creditors on Wednesday afternoon, however there are still a number of differences, such as the issue of the minimum wage.

Following Wednesday’s 5-hour long meeting with the institutions’ representatives, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos reassured Greek depositors that there would be no ‘hair-cuts’ on their money, according to Reuters news agency. Tsakalotos said that the issue of bank recapitalization was on the table of discussion during the meeting.

Early elections are ?likely? in Greece in the fall, a government spokeswoman said Aug. 5 as Athens is racing to hammer out a new bailout deal with its creditors by August 20.

?Elections are likely in the autumn,? government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili told Vima radio.

?It mainly depends on how steady this government can be in the coming period,? she added.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister George Stathakis are continuing their meetings with Greece’s quartet of creditors from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The goal is to surpass obstacles by August 11 for a positive recommendation on a new multi-billion-euro loan for Greece.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wants to wipe the slate clean after his string of broken promises and terrifying negotiations with Greece’s EU creditors.

Veteran International Monetary Fund statistician Andreas Georgiou was appointed head of Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) in 2010 in an effort to restore credibility to Greek statistics after the debt crisis erupted. On Sunday, he stepped down, informing Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos of his decision not to accept the extension of his term effective on that day.

By Yiannis Makrygiannis

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos met with Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras at the Finance Ministry Friday. The two men discussed the pressing issue of the timetable for the recapitalization of Greek banks, a matter which is at the heart of negotiations with the institutions currently in Athens.

Following a 6 hour meeting with  the representatives of the Quartet institutions, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos told the media about some of the issues covered.  The Greek Finance Minister said they talked about organizational matters, as well as how they intended to resolve any issue of misunderstanings or differences of opinion that might arise in a timely manner.

The ‘Troika’ turned ‘Quartet’ representatives met with the governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras Friday, after a 6-hour long talk with Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and his colleague Minister of Finance Giorgos Stathakis.