The current phase in the negotiations between the Greek government and the institutions may soon come to a conclusion, with the Brussels Group reporting that there is significant convergence on key areas, despite no agreement on some matters, such as labor and pension reforms.
Greek diplomatic sources stressed that in the Thursday discussions in Brussels the talks on increasing age of retirement focused on what would happen between 2020 and 2025, in cases where pension rights have not been established or matured. The gap on labor issues remains wide with the two sides unable to come to an agreement.
Nevertheless, the Greek negotiation team (which had an early morning business meeting with Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis) estimates that it will complete its talks with the institutions’ experts on Friday, without ruling out any further discussions on technical matters over the weekend.
A Euro Working Group teleconference on Friday appears to be on the cards, claim Greek diplomatic sources, to confirm the convergence of the two sides, sending a message to the Eurogroup scheduled for the upcoming Monday.
