Greece will receive a new loan from Europe and the IMF in return for additional spending cuts and a faster rate of privatizations, a newspaper report said yesterday.
Top-selling Ta Nea daily said Athens had concluded a deal with its troika of creditors — the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank — that includes “a new loan,” according to sources in Brussels.
Eleftherotypia daily said the new loan could be up to 60 billion euros (US$86 billion) to enable Greece to meet its payments schedule from next year onward.
Photo: AFP
In return, the government will make additional cuts of up to 10 percent to higher-paid civil servants and impose a stricter hiring procedure, only replacing one in 10 job openings, Ta Nea said.
A new entity called the Public Property Fund, independent from the state, will also be created to oversee the privatization drive, both dailies said.
NEGOTIATIONS
Greece is currently locked in negotiations with representatives from the three organizations which last year bailed out the country with a 110 billion euro loan.
It needs a scheduled installment of the loan, worth 12 billion euros, to pay its bills next month.
However, the IMF has threatened to withhold its share of the funding without a broader agreement that will make Greece’s debt — more than 350 billion euros — sustainable.
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou has said the talks are expected to conclude by today at the latest.
Ta Nea said an agreement will be announced on Friday afternoon, after the close of European markets.
“The EU-IMF report will note that Greece’s debt is not viable and point out delays in the fiscal adjustment and structural reforms program,” it said.
FRIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT
An emergency eurozone summit on June 5 and 6 is also expected to be announced on Friday, the daily said.
At least three eurozone states — Finland, the Netherlands and heavyweight Germany — have expressed reservations toward a new Greek bailout.
The privatization drive, designed to raise about 50 billion euros by selling choice state assets such as the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation and part of the Public Power Corp, has met with union opposition.
Greek unions are meeting today to finalize another general strike, expected to coincide with a European worker mobilization on June 21.
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