The government’s top finance officers are scheduled to meet with the institutions on Friday morning, in order to assess the first week of negotiations, according to plan. The institutions will then leave Athens, only to return in about 10 days to continue the bailout program review.
Earlier on Thursday, on the sidelines of the general strike, the Minister of Economy Giorgos Stathakis discussed competition and closed employments with the institutions.
A three-hour meeting later took place with the Minister of Labor Giorgos Katrougalos, in order to discuss the controversial reform of the pension system. The Ministers of Finances Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Giorgos Stathakis participated in the talks with the institutions, who later met with the Governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras.
Following the three-hour meeting, Mr. Katrougalos commented that “it was a particularly thorough and hard negotiation” and explained that the entire pension reform plan was discussed in detail. The Labor Minister added that the talks will continue next week with the technical teams and that “it is realistic” to find a solution, since at no point were pension cuts requested.
