THEfinal chord it's one step away. After yet another river meeting, the Greek premier Lucas Papademos and the leaders of the three parties that support his government have arrived – according to some Greek newspapers – very close to a definitive agreement on the new austerity measures requested by the troika (EU, IMF and ECB). The interventions are necessary to release the new tranche of aid of 130 million euros, which could rise to 170 billion. However, some crucial issues still remain outstanding: the reduction of pension subsidies, the cost of labor in the private sector and the reduction of public spending.
It seems that Antonis Samaras, leader of the centre-right Nea Dimocratia party, managed to avoid the abolition of the thirteenth and fourteenth month salaries for workers. A new meeting between the Premier and the number one of the three parties is scheduled for this afternoon. “They are asking us for more recession than the country can handle – said Samaras -. We try our best to avoid it."
The former socialist premier George Papandreou, for his part, convened his party's Political Council to examine the situation: “Our partners have prepared two plans – said Papandreou -. The first is a plan to support and help our country, despite the tough commitments they demand, while the second concerns first of all the bankruptcy and the removal of Greece from the Eurozone”.
Meanwhile the European stock exchanges continue to send signals of distrust towards the Greek country: at the end of the morning Milan, Frankfurt and London lost around half a point, while Paris travels in the red by more than 1%.
The Greeks "must assume their responsibilities by voting for reforms," said the French president Nicolas Sarkozy during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, following a bilateral meeting in Paris. "We think that an agreement has never been closer, and the chancellor is right when she says that now it must be closed".
As for the new aid that Greece needs, "there will be no agreement - he said Merkel – until the measures agreed with the troika have been put to work”. But the chancellor then added that she believes a mechanism is necessary to block interest rates on Greek bonds.
