The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras met with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras late on Thursday evening in order to discuss the upcoming arrival of the troika and the ongoing negotiations.
According to Mr. Stournaras “the troika will arrive in the next few days. We are in touch with them. the goal is to finish up, to collect the installment. First we come to a deal and collect by March”.
When journalists quizzed the Minister about comments made by French MEP Liêm Hoang-Ngoc regarding the possibility of a new debt haircut, Mr. Stournaras claimed to be unaware of it and refused to comment.
Prior to his arrival in Athens, Mr. Hoang-Ngoc gave an interview to a French news agency where he explained that for Greece to exit the crisis the necessary reforms must continue and the tax collection mechanism must be supported, but crucially, part of the debt must be erased.
