The late-night teleconference with the troika did not have the desired result, with a senior Finance Ministry official informing the press shortly after 3am that there was “no set date” for the troika’s return to Athens.
The main problem appears to be the 2015 budget gap, which the troika insists will be between 2.6 and 3.6 billion euros. The Ministry official countered that “we are in the right” and that government insists that there will not be any budget gap in 2015. To that end, the new budget will be submitted in Parliament on Friday.
The ministry officer added that a variety of issues where addressed in the teleconference and that “we agreed on a lot”. He also revealed that the possibility of extending the current bailout program was not discussed and explained that completing the current review was paramount.
The Greek side was represented by the Minister of Finances Gikas Hardouvelis, his Alternate Minister Christos Staikouras and Deputy Minister Giorgos Mavraganis, the PM’s consultants Stavros Papastavrou and Chrysanthos Lazaridis along with representatives from the Ministries of Growth and Administrative Reform.
Meanwhile To Vima has been informed that a new teleconference between the coalition government and the troika has been scheduled for Friday afternoon, in an effort to come closer to an agreement.
