The Greek government will send Brussels today the letter containing the measures it intends to introduce as an exception to the memorandum with the Troika. The presentation of the document had to take place by midnight yesterday, but then the deadline was postponed by 24 hours to allow Athens to balance the negotiating needs and internal stability of the executive led by Alexis Tsipras.
By the 28 February, expiry date of the previous agreement, Greece to present the list of reforms and submit it to the judgment of theEurogroup. Once this first go-ahead has been obtained, the agreement will have to be ratified by a number of National Parliaments, including those of countries hostile to Tsipras' plans (such as Germany, Holland and Finland), as well as by the assembly in Athens itself. At that point it will unlock extension of four months to the aid plan agreed on Friday with the Eurogroup. However, if these steps are not carried out with the necessary speed, Athens risks finding itself soon without the funds necessary to pay public salaries and pensions.
According to advances released yesterday by the German newspaper "Bild", the list of reforms drawn up by the Greek government should be worth 7,3 billion, of which 2,5 will come with a tax on the large estates of oligarchs and shipowners and as many with the recovery of thetax backlog of individuals and businesses. Another billion and a half should come from fight against petrol trafficking and 800 million from that against the cigarette smuggling. All this will allow, among other things, to prevent the entry into force of the measures envisaged by the previous Samaras government for this month, ie an increase in VAT and new cuts for 2,5 billion. Furthermore, it seems that the block on the confiscation of houses will also come.
In the meantime, however, Tsipras has to deal with the bellyache within his party. Yesterday the economist and Syriza deputy Costas Lapavitsas called for an immediate meeting of the party, expressing "deep concern" about the government's agreement with the Eurogroup, because "it is difficult to see how Tsipras' electoral program will be implemented through this agreement ”. Manolis Glezos, ninety-year-old hero of the Greek Resistance against the Nazis and now Syriza MEP, aroused particular attention, criticizing the agreement with the Eurogroup, apologizing to the Greek people for having "participated in this illusion".
From Brussels, however, the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici he explained that the European Commission expects an "ambitious" but "financially realistic" reform plan from Greece. Speaking on France2 you reiterated that "it is not a matter of imposing austerity in Athens", that we need to "help the Greek people, but at the same time with realism". For Moscovici the plan "must take into account that the debt must be repaid" and he repeated that Greece's exit from the euro is not in question because "there is no plan b, there is only one plan: Greece in the eurozone".
