Greece insists no tough measures on cards after sending creditors counter-proposals

Government officials sought to appear upbeat Monday even as they awaited a response by the troika to Greek counterproposals aimed at closing a projected fiscal gap for next year and completing a stalled economic review by creditors.

By late last night, there had been no response from the troika to Greece’s proposals, which include a doubling of the value-added tax rate on hotel accommodation, to 13 percent – a prospect that caused consternation in the ranks of the coalition. The government also committed to make “further corrections” next year if the budget execution goes off track, sources said. A high-ranking government official told Kathimerini that the Greek side believed it had made a significant compromise toward the troika. “We will see if they really want an agreement,” the official said.

Earlier in the day Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis told a conference organized by the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce that negotiations with the troika remained “tough” but that the Greek side was persisting in a bid to “avert a return to uncertainty.” He added that “significant progress” had been made in the negotiations. Addressing the same event, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Athens was not prepared to enforce new painful measures. “The country must not and will not introduce new austerity measures,” Venizelos said. He added, in an apparent dig at leftist SYRIZA, that “some are trying to fuel fears that are completely unfounded.”

Venizelos stressed that Greece must press on with delayed structural reforms but played down the extent of a feared overhaul to the pension system, noting that only “few additions and improvements” were necessary.

Venizelos said the aim was for the troika’s review to be completed in time for a...