The government Vice President Evangelos Venizelos commented that the ongoing negotiations with the EU and IMF are difficult, because they are being conducted on a political and financial level. Mr. Venizelos met with PM Samaras earlier in the day.
Mr. Venizelos, who made the comments while addressing the organization committee of the Democratic Faction convention, stressed that “there will be no new fiscal austerity measures and there will be no cuts in wages and pensions”.
He also clarified that the negotiations are for the “technical extension of the procedures” rather than an extension of the bailout program and claimed that “nobody can introduce or enforce measures that kill rather than benefit growth”. Mr. Venizelos was optimistic that an agreement with the troika by the 15th of December is possible.
The VP noted that “we are waiting for the troika’s return; we have the ability to reach an agreement with the creditors before Christmas”.