The Minister of Finances Gikas Hardouvelis will be in Milan on Friday for the Eurogroup, where Greek finances are expected to be high up on the troika’s agenda. Mr. Hardouvelis, who will be under pressure from the troika and his counterparts, will provide assurances that the coalition government will have completed 75% of its prior actions by the end of September, when the troika is expected to return to Athens.
Germany and her northern European allies such as the Netherlands, Austria and Finland, are frustrated by the Greek delays and will demand explanations. Mr. Hardouvelis will dispute the troika prediction of a 2-billion-euro budget gap for 2015, arguing that Athens will exceed its primary surplus goal.
Meanwhile Bloomberg reported that Brussels is expecting Greek to apply for a new bailout program. An unnamed European Union officer stressed that the Eurogroup would consider extending the current program or even supporting a new program, should Greece request it. According to the report, the officer notes that so far Greece has not hinted towards this.
Furthermore the officer explains that Greece no longer needs huge sums for refinancing and that everything depends on the new troika review. Should the Greek government decide against requesting further funding, the officer argues that the budget gap can be covered by other means, with the ultimate goal being the replacement of the European bailout to a national growth plan (approved by Brussels) in 2015.
