All options are open after the video-conference with Troika
With three hours late, indicating that there are disagreements even within the Troika, held yesterday, Thursday (11/20/2014), the teleconference between representatives of the country's lenders, the Minister of Finance G. Hardouvelis and the governmental executives.
However, just before the debate, officials in Brussels said that if no agreement is reached by the end of next week, then the situation is "marginal", leaving open the possibility of extending the current program even for 12 months.
Thus, there is no date of return of the auditors and the "ball" of pressure went back into the government for new concessions. Proof of the pressure situation for the government, is the fact that the Ministry of Finance has not yet issued the circular for 100 installments, but goes to the submission of the new budget without the approval of auditors.
"They continue to insist on the" alleged" fiscal gap. This is now the biggest thorn. And we stick to our views, we are right as in previous years and thus we are tabling the budget", said a government agent who participated in the meeting under Gikas Hardouvelis.
Athens denies changes to proposals to increase the retirement age, to reducing pensions, liberalization of collective redundancies and increase the low VAT rate applicable to the islands. Also, she proposed "freeze" on pension increases that would become the biennium 2016-2017 and thereby prevents the growth of pension expenditure by 920 million Euros. One of the issues of quarrel with the troika is the issue of the 2015 budget gap, which the Troika estimates up to 3.6 billion Euros, while the government considers it is zero. This is something that will be reflected in the budget of 2015, filed today.
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