NEWS

Venizelos sees thin line between success and deadlock

It?s time for binding commitments, said Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Saturday evening after participating in a Eurogroup meeting through teleconference, adding that negotiations with the country’s creditors on a new loan contract will have to be completed by Sunday night.

?We are on the razor?s edge, the distance separating a successful completion of the negotiations to a deadlock is very small,? said Venizelos referring to talks with the representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, referred to as the troika.

He added that the government and the troika have agreed on the way that banks will be recapitalized, the course of privatizations and many institutional reforms such as the creation of an effective mechanism that will monitor and eventually suppress the prices that concern the commodities an average household would buy.

What is still on the negotiating table is the labor relations in the private sector and the fiscal measures that need to be taken within 2012.

Venizelos then stressed it is high time all political forces made some binding decisions.

He is set to attend the next Eurogroup meeting in person on Wednesday.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.