Nicola Giammarioli

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) has appointed Paolo Fioretti as mission chief for Greece, replacing Nicola Giammarioli who held the post since 2015, the ESM said in a statement.

Negotiations began on Monday between Greek officials and the mission chiefs of the institutions, with the main focus on Greece's achievement of a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 in the wake of the recent tax cuts to the tune of 1.2 billion euros announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

ESM Mission Chief for Greece Nicola Giammarioli urged Greece to implement the agreed measures emanating from the deal with the EU during the Economist’s 21st Roundtable in Athens Tuesday. The European Commission’s mission chief to Greece Declan Costello reiterated the need for swift implementation of reforms in Greece.

Representatives of Greece’s creditors are meeting with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister George Stathakis as part of continued negotiations on  the country’s third bailout program. IMF Representative Delia Velculescu was the first to arrive for breakfast at the Athens Hilton at around 8 a.m.

Greece and its international creditors will begin talks on a new international bailout worth up to 86 billion euros ($94 billion) for the crisis-hit country next week, a Greek government source said July 25.

Technocrats from Greece?s lenders are expected in Athens on Thursday for talks with government officials, a day after technical discussions about the country?s reform program began in Brussels, where a different set of experts representing creditors met with Greek officials.