The government is preparing for the upcoming arrival of troika representatives for a new round of negotiations, with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras determined to challenge the adoption of new across-the-board measures, such as pension and wage cuts.
Mr. Samaras’ recent trip to Brussels for the EU and EPP summits allowed him to get a sneak-preview of European and creditor intentions. Despite their overall differences in opinion regarding negotiations, PM Samaras and Vice President Evangelos Venizelos are in agreement over the government’s next moves.
A series of meetings with European leaders has been arranged for the near future, in relation to the upcoming Greek EU presidency, where Mr. Samaras will also try to garner support for Greece positions. The main request will be for creditors to uphold their side of the November 2012 bargain.
With negotiations expected to reach a critical point in the near future, the government wants to fid a solution to the 2014 budget and funding gaps, as well as negotiate a reduction of the Greek debt. To that end the Prime Minister will meet his ministers so that they are prepared for the troika visit on the 4th of November. The main Greek argument will be that based on the evidence that Greece has achieved its goals, new measures will not be necessary.
The upcoming meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom Mr. Samaras spoke briefly in Brussels, will also be paramount in the overall progress of the Greek program. Aside from a scheduled telephone contact, the two leaders will meet again in Berlin, as soon as the CDU/CSU and SDP parties complete their negotiations for a coalition government.
Unfortunately though, the messages from Greece’s creditors so far are that the government must make an even greater effort to hope for a satisfactory development, since there are many external factors that render finding a solution such as an arduous and complicated procedure. The creditors want Athens to set aside its declarations of not taking new measures and focus on implemented what it has agreed to.
