Greece gears up for debt talks
Stournaras to put forward suggestions on how to reduce annual repayments at Mondays Eurogroup
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras is due to ask his eurozone counterparts Monday to begin considering further debt relief for Greece, with the government already having drafted a number of options to reduce the repayments the country faces in the years to come.
Having achieved a primary surplus of 1.5 billion euros in 2013, Greece will demand that the Eurogroup lives up to its November 2012 commitment to examine other ways of reducing the countrys giant debt burden of roughly 175 percent of gross domestic product. It is highly unlikely, though, that Stournaras will get an immediate answer. The matter will probably be referred to the Euro Working Group, with the technical team that advises eurozone finance ministers being asked to come up with proposals on how to reduce Greeces debt.
Discussions will begin but there are a number of preconditions to be met, not just the primary surplus, a high-ranking European Union official told Kathimerini. That is why the negotiations will take place when the next [troika] review [of the Greek adjustment program] has been completed.
Sources have told Kathimerini that there is some reluctance within the eurozone to make any firm commitments now because of the proximity to the European Parliament elections on May 25.
Reducing Greeces debt is a politically sensitive issue in a number of eurozone countries. Also, Greeces lenders feel that they can use the issue of debt relief for leverage over the next few months to ensure that Athens meets its structural reform commitments.
Although there is not likely to be a definitive answer regarding Greek debt lightening until the fall, Athens...
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