Monday, February 23, 2015

Discussions about debt crisis: Greece puts reform list until Tuesday … – tagesspiegel

Discussions about debt crisis: Greece puts reform list until Tuesday … – tagesspiegel

21:58 clock by Albrecht Meier

Update Greece will not meet a deadline of midnight to submit proposals for reform. The list will now be presented on Tuesday donors. According to the European Commission, the talks with Athens very difficult.

The Greek government will present its final list of reform proposals for an extension of the EU assistance program until Tuesday. The list will be sent on Tuesday morning at the finance ministers of the euro zone, was reported on Monday evening from government in Athens. Accordingly, the proposals include social measures such as free health care, the supply of electricity to the poorest and special grants for impoverished pensioners. These measures should be accompanied by structural reforms such as the fight against corruption and tax evasion and the reduction of bureaucracy. Also, the gasoline and cigarette smuggling to be combated.



Delay discussed

The talks between Greece and the donors on reforming list that was supposed to be until midnight, make obviously difficult. This approach was however agreed with the euro finance ministers, said a Greek government official on Monday evening. He gave no reason for the delay.



Tough process of rapprochement

The Euro Group had agreed on Friday to their ongoing assistance program be extended to four months. The Minister had, however, requires a list of concrete reform commitments until Monday evening. They should be sent for consideration by the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF.

It was a “difficult process”, the different positions between the new Athens left-right government on the one hand and formerly known as the troika institutions together on the other hand, it had been called from the EU Commission as early as Monday afternoon. Without the submission of reform list the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras can, according to the agreement of euro zone finance ministers on Friday evening no extension of the current aid program expected, which expires actually on Saturday.

According to a report in the newspaper “Bild” Tsipras’s government has submitted to the donors a preliminary reform list to bring more than seven billion euros. In detail, it is doing according to the report to a higher tax wealthy Greeks and oligarchs who should rinse out 2.5 billion euros into the coffers of the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. In addition, Athens therefore intends to recoup through April 2.5 billion euros in unpaid taxes from citizens and companies. In addition, the Syriza, which ruled in coalition with the right-wing populist party of the Independent Greeks, from a combat fuel smuggling additional revenue of 1.5 billion and increased action against cigarette smuggling further 800 million euros expected.



E -mails and calls

However, the figures come from a preliminary list. According to data from the European Commission circles of exchange between the government in Athens and donors on the final version of the list by e-mail and by phone also continued on Monday afternoon.

The list of reform proposals to this Tuesday from examined the institutions of the donors and are taken from the euro finance ministers under the microscope. In Brussels was speculated that the euro zone finance ministers could possibly gather for this purpose in the Belgian capital. On Friday, it had been called, the department heads would be denied by telephone conference. From the environment of the Euro Group boss Jeroen Dijsselbloem it was said that the circumstances of the meeting will only be decided when the institutions of the donors had written a review of the Athenians reform list. Because of the crisis in Greece and EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici will remain on this Tuesday in Brussels. Originally a visit to Berlin Moscovici was scheduled for Tuesday was planned

Bosbach. Donors are expressed to question the fate of Hellas in euro-zone around

The CDU inner politician Wolfgang Bosbach, meanwhile, skeptical that the proposals of the new Greek government under the leadership of the Left Alliance SYRIZA actually change something to meet the requirements of reform of the economic plight of Greece. “Greece will always make so many concessions, as you have to do in order to get fresh money” Bosbach told the Tagesspiegel. However, he was skeptical that the measures announced by the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras plans to fight corruption and tax evasion will actually bear fruit, the CDU politician said.
This Bosbach pointed to negative experiences that with the donors in dealing Tsipras’ previous governments had collected. So at that time had been filed with the expected privatization revenues for the period 2011-2017 for the lenders a detailed list of Athens. He appreciated that not even ten percent of the time promised revenues have actually been achieved, the CDU politician said.



CDU domestic affairs is considering withdrawal as a member of parliament

Bosbach said further, that the donor countries and Greece after the submission of the final list of reform Athens this week expected to be a “ambiguous compromise” to extend the utility would agree. “But donors are expressed by the simple question around: Is the Greek economy under the conditions of the euro at all competitive?”. Asked whether Greece should leave the euro zone, Bosbach said: “The decision falls exclusively in Athens.” However, he feared that “it under the terms of the euro can not create Greece because of the lack of competitiveness”

The Bundestag must still give the go-ahead for the extension of the utility. In February 2012, the Bundestag approved by a large majority, a second bailout package for Greece with a volume of 130 billion euros. Bosbach had once voted against it. “All my concerns have since been confirmed,” the CDU politician said now.

On the question of the German Press Agency, whether he is a view of the emerging broad support in parliament to new billions in aid to Greece its withdrawal summarize the eye, said the 62-year-old member of the Bundestag, he had not yet decided. But: “I do not want to constantly vote against the course of the government are not considered as obstructionist. I’m going to calmly consider what to do next, and I’m going to take my time. “Bosbach since 1994 a member of parliament.

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