Everything the medium term provides

New and tough austerity measures for the next years, while Staikouras says that: "Greece is in a stabilization phase".

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The Medium Term Financial Strategy 2015-2018 was tabled in the Parliament yesterday. A primary surplus at 2.3% of GDP in 2014 is predicted against a target for the primary surplus of 1.5%. As announced by Giannis Tragakis, the bill for the medium term will be discussed with normal procedure. Reportedly, it will be voted until Friday, May 9th, which means the time between meetings of Parliamentary Committees will be shortened. The Deputy Minister of Finance, Staikouras, stressed that the medium term aims in presenting the financial limits of the next four years and marks the country's path towards growth and recovery. "Greece is in a phase of budgetary consolidation. This is an achievement of enormous sacrifices of Greek society" he said. The medium term predicts that the country will achieve without additional structural interventions a primary surplus of 2.5% of GDP in 2015, 3.5% of GDP in 2016, 4.6% of GDP in 2017 and 5.3% of GDP in 2018. Also it will reduce the financial debt at 139% of GDP in 2018.

At the same time, however, it predicts a financial gap of 911 million euros in 2015 and 1.927 billion in 2016, which will be reviewed in cooperation with troika on September to draft the new budget and if it remains additional interventions to overcome it will be discussed. Christos Staikouras assured at a press conference that this medium term doesn't include new budgetary measures, new tax increases and further cuts in wages and pensions, but the already voted 4.5 billion, which are implemented from this year. "We capture the realism of reality. The medium term is in full knowledge of troika. Obviously, however, our estimates don't coincide with the estimates of troika" Staikouras added and presented ten targets of the government's economic policy. These include:

1) Focus on development initiatives and structural reforms.
2) Strengthening liquidity by ESPA and Greek Investment Fund.
3) Gradual reduction of tax burden on households and businesses.
4) Modern programs and active policies to support employment.
5) Higher social spending through GMI.
6) Improve quality of public finances and strengthening expenditure with increased multiplier.
7) Establishing fair and modern state by accelerating administrative reform.
8) Fighting of corruption and fraud.
9) Arrange the sustainability of Greek debt.
10) Sustainable primary surpluses and avoid creating new deficits.

The government aims the vote to be completed until Monday, May 5th, when the Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras will raise the issue of impairment of debt at the meeting of Eurogroup.