Troika

Every time the government’s negotiations with the troika of international lenders reaches a critical point, Greeks are plunged into a state of fear and insecurity.

A Greek government delegation is to meet representatives of the country’s troika of international lenders in Paris on Tuesday for two days of talks aimed at bridging a rift between the two sides and relaunching a stalled economic review in a last-ditch attempt to prepare for a Eurogroup summit on December 8.

Greek government’s spokesman Sofia Voultepsi said that a meeting between representatives of the coalition and troika in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday represent the “last phase” of negotiations between the two sides.

“The important thing is that a decision has been taken to get the process moving again,” Voultepsi told Vima FM.

Greek government officials will meet with troika representatives in Paris on Tuesday, it was announced on Monday.

The surprise meeting was arranged late on Sunday in a bid to find common ground that would help conclude the current troika review of the Greek program before the December 8 Eurogroup.

 After last year’s forecast failure, the troika should be less intransigent on its fiscal gap estimate for 2015

By Dimitris Kontogiannis

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A teleconference conference between Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and representatives of Greece’s creditors, collectively known as the troika, was scheduled to take place on Thursday afternoon, Kathimerini understands.

The meeting’s agenda was expected to focus on proposals forwarded to the troika by the Greek government late on Wednesday.

A teleconference between troika and Greek government officials on Tuesday led to the lenders’ estimate for next year’s fiscal gap being reduced but not to the point where the two sides are in full agreement over the content of the 2015 budget, which is due to be submitted to Parliament this week.

The government is doing its best to convince the troika to return to Athens and resume its latest review, with officials having sent inspectors responses to a 19-point to-do list and with a vote due in Parliament on Friday on a revised version of a bill facilitating debtors.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Premier Evangelos Venizelos met on Tuesday to study the list of 19 actions that the troika has demanded from Athens, setting apart five on which they believe the government will have to proceed cautiously.

Finance Ministry sources told Kathimerini on Monday that troika representatives are due to return to Athens at the end of the week but Greece’s lenders were not able to confirm this.