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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-05-24
CONTENTS
[01] There is no money for IMF payment on June 5, Voutsis tells Mega TV
[02] Talks with Brussels Group to resume on Tuesday
[01] There is no money for IMF payment on June 5, Voutsis tells Mega TV
ANA-MPA -- The Greek government will not be able to meet a payment to
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June, Interior Minister Nikos
Voutsis told the television programme 'Mega Weekend' on Sunday.
"The installment to the IMF will not be paid. The installments to the
IMF in June, starting on the 5th and until the 19th, are 1.6 billion
euros. This money will not be given and does not exist to be given,"
Voutsis said. According to the minister, "this is known and we are
discussing on the basis of restrained optimism that there will be a strong
agreement." He underlined, also, that the government would not cave in
to the strategy of "suffocation" adopted by the creditors, while adding
that a credit event was not in the government's plans and expressing
the opinion that the time was "ripe" for a "reasonable agreement".
According to Voutsis, there were serious disagreements in the negotiations
on a number of issues and these issues had to be resolved. He stressed
that reason had to prevail in order to proceed with a programme for
the country. "In other words, so that an agreement exists that gives
the country breathing room, is economically sustainable and politically
gives inspiration and opens up a prospect," he said. Voutsis emphasised
that the agreement must not have "second prerequisites" but include
small primary surplus targets and a developmental package. He did not
rule out an extension of the talks until the end of June or early July.
He also underlined that any agreement must first go through Parliament for
ratification and did not rule out the possibility of a referendum, noting
that the people must decide either directly or indirectly. Referring to
reactions within SYRIZA, Voutsis noted that SYRIZA had always been a
party that held "fertile" discussions and disagreements but rated the
chances that it would fail to reconcile these views in the end at "less
than 5 pct".
[02] Talks with Brussels Group to resume on Tuesday
BRUSSELS (ANA-MPA/ M. Spinthourakis) Talks between the Greek government
and the Brussels Group - the three institutions representing Greece's
creditors - are to continue next Tuesday, it was announced.
The technical talks were concluded in Brussels on Saturday night
and will continue after Tuesday when officials from Greece's public
administration are programmed to return to Belgium from Athens.
According to well-informed sources, the range of outstanding issues
in the talks has been significantly reduced and the possibility of an
agreement on a technical level by the end of next week is "visible". The
same sources noted, however, that there continue to be differences on
issues relating to the pension system, the tax system and fiscal sectors.
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