Bridging the distance on Greece’s 2020 budget

The government will try to bridge the gap between its own estimates regarding the 2020 budget and those of the country's creditors before it tables its first draft on October 7.

The main target is to conclude the fourth post-bailout assessment successfully, with a positive statement by the creditors at the end of November to be ratified by the December 4 Eurogroup. This is also when a decision will be reached as to how eurozone central banks' earnings from Greek bond holdings will be included in the 2020 budget, which could plug any gap that may remain until then.

In its ongoing talks with the creditors' mission chiefs in Athens, the government is open to additional measures to narrow the distance, one Finance Ministry source said. He added that these measures will not be in the form of new taxes or spending cuts, but structural interventions, such as increasing...

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