Troika set to announce completion of Greek review in wake of agreement
The troika is expected to announce on Monday that it has completed the latest review of the Greek fiscal consolidation program, following a meeting between Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and International Monetary Fund representative Poul Thomsen.
An agreement was clinched over the weekend, when the two sides settled the issue of how to reduce the number of civil servants.
Some 25,000 public workers are to be place in a labor reserve or a mobility scheme this year and next, with 15,000 bureaucrats losing their jobs.
Those leaving the civil service will include public servants close to retirement age and those who have breached the code of conduct.
The troika began its review on February 25 and it is expected that the final minor details will be agreed at the sidelines of The Economist conference in Athens on Monday, where Stournaras and Thomsen are due to speak.
Following the troika’s announcement, Greece will be pushing for the quick disbursal of the delayed March bailout tranche, which is worth 2.8 billion euros. The release of the money has to be approved by the Euro Working Group, which could meet by teleconference.
The European Stability Mechanism is also expected to release shortly the 7.2 billion euros needed to complete the recapitalization of Greece banks.
Beyond that, Athens is looking to the Eurogroup planned for May 13 for the approval needed for the next bailout tranche of 6 billion euros.
Eurozone finance ministers should have by then the reports from the European Commission and IMF based on the latest troika review.
This could lead to the 6-billion-euro instalment being broken into sub-tranches that will require Athens to complete “prior actions” before the funding could be released.
