Gov't official: Greece to consult with EU partners on planned debt settlement scheme legislation
The government is preparing two separate draft bills with measures for debt settlements for overdue taxes and social insurance contributions, a government official said on Thursday.
The aim is to complete the draft bill by mid March, in order to then consult with the institutions and finally pass the legislation in parliament, the source said.
The same official also revealed that it will not be long before Greece issue's its next government bond, which is likely to be a 10-year bond though a final decision will be made depending on the markets. The decision was not linked with the upcoming Eurogroup on March 11, the official claimed, noting that the markets consider the government's good relations with the institutions certain".
On the European Commission's report regarding debt settlement schemes, government sources noted that Greece had made it clear to its partners that they would not be "ambushed" and any proposal would be discussed with them in advance.
They also noted that the eligibility criteria for tax debts would not be "horizontal" in order to ensure that "strategic defaulters" were excluded, while also introducing positive incentives for those that kept up with payments.
In the meantime, draft legislation on protecting primary residences has been set to the institutions following the modifications agreed during a meeting between the government and banks a few days ago, sources said. This addresses questions raised by Greece's partners and the aim is to table the bill in parliament next week so that it can be passed by Thursday. The nine points raised by the European Commission, the government official explained, actually related to a previous version of the legislation finally agreed with the banks on Wednesday.
On non-performing loans, government sources said that the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) plan has already been sent to the European Commission's competition directorate DGcomp and a reply expected within the next two-three weeks.
Finally, the sources revealed that the government is planning to table 18 draft bills in the near future, covering issues ranging from economic policy (Development Bank, micro-credit, debt settlement) to education and civil protection.
The government is reasonably confident that the Eurogroup will approve the disbursement of 970 million euros of returned central bank profits on Greek bonds (ANFAs and SMPs) on March 11.
Source: ana-mpa
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