The Brussels Group talks that began over the weekend are set to continue in Paris on Tuesday, in an effort to bridge the differences on the main macroeconomic plan and growth rate for 201, as well as necessary measures to close the financing gap, despite the primary surplus target being less than 1.5% GDP.
The decision to continue negotiations in Paris appears to stem from the request of an unnamed expert for one of the institutions (rumored to be the IMF), over growth rate predictions. The Greek government expects a 1.4% growth rate this year, due to of influx of tourists in the summer months and the end of uncertainty that an agreement will bring. The IMF believes that a 0.6% rate is more realistic, while the European Commission has adopted a more conciliatory approach and estimated it will be about 1%.
Ultimately though, the goal of he negotiations is to come to a preliminary agreement on the text that will be examined in Wednesday’s Euro Working Group teleconference, before the critical Eurogroup on Friday. The budget is going to be at the top of the agenda, while taxation and debt will also be discussed. The partners are reportedly against the possibility of changing the revenue targets from privatizations (20 billion euros by 2020), as that will affect the plans for the sustainability of Greece’s debt.
According to sources close to the negotiations, there has been some progress in the talks, after the Greek side submitted more detailed information on its proposals. This was somewhat confirmed on Monday by the European Commission’s spokesperson Margaritis Schinas, who stated that talks on a political and technical level have intensified ahead of the Eurogroup in Latvia.
